Reading Ultraman Taro Remnants of Ultraman
by Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh
Summary: Commission for Ultrahero74. Penny, Ozpin and his Inner Circle, RWBY and JNPR are all brought to watch a possible future by a host who then leaves them in a possibly-erupting volcano, and they have to watch all the future before it actually blows up. Wait, what?
1. Chapter 1

**_And here I am with another commission. A Rose Too Many is in progress. Slow progress. This story is for Ultrahero74. Original story by him/her (them)._**

It was a clear and sunny day in Remnant. Well, in some parts of it. As lovely as it might sound sunny all over a planet would be beyond the realm of possibility, even if Remnant was indeed a very strange world.

And at the current moment, it was also a world frozen in a chronostasis. Nothing too dangerous, of course. It would simply stop the flowing of time for a few seconds.

The trick of using a chronostasis was to then use those seconds to bring people from one world to another where time flew differently. So that those few seconds would become few days, or even months or years in the other universe.

Some Writers referred to that process as FF, as in "Freeze and Free", while others preferred a clearer, more straightforward word.

Kidnapping.

Both were correct, as a bunch of clueless victims were about to find out.

The first to realize this was Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy and his so-called Inner Circle, without counting the three other Headmasters as they were not noteworthy enough to be retrieved. They were not all in the same room when the chronostasis took effect, with the exception of General James Ironwood, Headmaster and General of Atlas, who was in his flagship.

All of them mysteriously disappeared, leaving only a single blue crystal where they once stood.

The next ones to be 'frozen and freed' were eight teenagers, ages seventeen and one fifteen, all students of the prestigious Beacon Academy, located outside the city of Vale. They were all in class at the time, though different classes as Beacon worked similarly to a university – each student had to choose the classes they would like to attend, and not all chose the same classes.

The final being to be taken was not a human one, or not physically at least. Instead, it was a gynoid by the name of P. E. N. N. Y., commonly referred to as Penny Polendina. She was several months old, but she had the mental capabilities of a teenager, despite not having the social experience of one. She was at her temporary home in Vale at the moment of the removal.

All of them left a small blue crystal behind, an anchor that would replace them where they last stood as soon as the chronostasis wore off, even if they had moved onto the Afterlife. A small safety measure in case things went awry during the removal.

Kidnapping might've been a more straightforward word for it, but 'Freeze and Free' was more professional, and something like that had to be done with care and skill to be pulled off, so the second was eventually the best word, officially-wise.

/-/

Somewhere in another universe, a custom-made universe created for the sole purpose of housing those displaced individuals unlucky enough to be chosen by Writers to be 'freed', thirteen large blue crystals tore out of the ground before they shattered, revealing the people inside them.

Waiting for them, there was a man.

An odd man with deep violent dragon wings, small horns, draconic eyes and amethyst crystals embedded into his skin. Other than that, he had long brown hair tied in a ponytail and greenish-brown eyes, and his beard was shaved short. The crystals appeared on his forehead, in a line, on his cheeks, looking like large freckles, on the back of his neck, on the back of his hands and on his wings. The skin of his hands and around his eyes had delicate purple scales covering it, though he had no claws.

He was dressed with black shoes and black pants, a white long-sleeved shirt and a black sleeveless jacket over it. To be completely honest, without the draconic and mineral traits he showed, he could've easily been mistaken for a waiter of a respectable restaurant.

As the thirteen people groaned and got back on their feet, the man silently observed them. They were exactly as he remembered. He should know. He'd kidnapped different versions of them several times already.

Sorry, 'freed', not kidnapped.

"Ozpin, where are we?" asked James Ironwood, the General and Headmaster of Atlas, as mentioned above.

"James, I have no idea," replied Headmaster Ozpin, looking around.

They appeared to be in a cave of some kind. Or maybe a mineshaft. A myriad of differently-coloured crystals, some as tiny as a fingernail and some as large as full-grown men, laid scattered around on the floor, walls and even ceiling. Some stalactites and stalagmites were encrusted with gems, and a few were even entirely made of crystal. Topazes, sapphires, amethysts, rubies, emeralds and diamonds were mixed with aquamarines, jaspers, garnets, opals, agates and moonstones. Where the crystals didn't cover the walls, veins of metals ranging from gold and silver to iron and copper filled the stone surface with swirls and lines of shiny minerals. The cave themselves seemed to be made of volcanic rocks, from tuff to obsidian. It did make sense as gems sometimes were found near or inside volcanoes due to their high temperatures.

"Let's get out of here," Qrow stated, for once putting away his flask, before he noticed the rest of the cave's occupants. "Ruby? Yang? And… weird guy staring at us?"

The students all took a little longer to get to their feet. Aside from a few glances to check if everyone was okay, all eyes were fixated on the odd man standing not too far from them.

"Uhh… sir?" Ruby spoke up. "Are you okay?"

The man smiled, showing his sharp canines in what was probably supposed to be a comforting smile. "I am, thank you. In fact, I am perfectly fine. Now, I bet you must be wondering where you might be. Let me answer that question."

"Wait a second – you mean you _know_ what's going on?" asked Yang, incredulous.

"I hope so, after all, how could I _not_ know when I am the one who brought you here in the first place?" His tone and smile turned a bit sarcastic. "As for what this place is, we are in a natural cave, a few miles underground. There's a volcano nearby – if you were to walk in any direction and walk through tunnels and caves, you would reach it in an hour or so. Above us, there is an idyllic beach still untouched by human hands. And finally, this is not Remnant."

The students all looked at him flatly, while the adults exchanged glances. They've heard weirder things. Not only that, but they obviously weren't in Vale or Atlas any more, which meant that as far-fetched as that sounded, that man _must_ have done _something_ at the very least.

Penny had a slightly different reaction. She frowned a bit at the man. "I cannot pick up any sign of lies in your voice. Which should mean you are telling the truth and we are indeed on another planet. How is this possible?"

The man shrugged. "Nothing's impossible as long as you believe you can do it," he replied with a grin. "I could explain the exact actions behind this whole event but you wouldn't understand it – the concepts of timespace, universes, astrology would be completely foreign to you, not to mention the willpower, projections, dimension travelling and everything. So, we can say I used magic, and leave it at that."

"Magic exists? Sensational!" Penny exclaimed with a megawatt smile. In her case, it might've actually been a megawatt. "I was thought science destroyed the concept of magic a long time ago!"

Ironwood subtly coughed into his fist. Dr Polendina was a genius and a great man, but he had a bit too high an opinion of science, if one were to ask him. If something couldn't be explained with science, it either had to be studied until it could, or it just wasn't even worth thinking about.

Apparently his 'daughter' hadn't developed the same mindset.

"Magic is usually just a word used to describe something we still have no idea how it's happening," shrugged the winged man. "After all, once one studies the art of runes, it becomes clear how to use it. If one were to study it enough, who knows, maybe they'd find out _why_ it works."

"That is scientifically correct," nodded Penny. "Despite the fact that we don't even have the tools to analyse everything, deep down there must be some kind of logic that connects it all. It is just something humans cannot understand."

"You hit the nail on the head."

"Look, pal, I don't want to interrupt your little chat with the lass but you've just admitted you kidnapped all of us against our will," Qrow cut in, putting a hand on his blade's hilt.

"Of course. Kidnapping, after all, implies it is not consensual," was the sarcastic reply, followed by a smirk.

"Don't you dare use my own snark against me, Mr Weird-and-Wings," threatened the old Hunter, even though everyone could see a bit of a smile on his face at the retort.

"Oh gods I must've left my manners back where I kidnapped you _against your will_," he mockingly despaired. "My shallowest apologies. My name is Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh."

"That sounds as weird as he looks," Yang commented to Weiss, who rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help but agree.

"Says the one whose name literally means _Little Sun Dragon_. My name is obviously foreign to any of you," snorted the newly named Khor, a little offended.

"It must mean something in a different language then," Weiss interjected. "Does it have anything to do with… you know, the crystals and wings and horns and everything else?"

"It has _everything_ to do with those! _Khor_ is the root word from which words like _kheran_, 'good', and _khyor_, 'truth', but by itself is means 'amethyst'. _Evik_ is the root word for _evik'hiin_, the Moon, or _evynik_, 'purity', but it means 'silver'. Together they can mean Amethyst Silver, but they also hint to the owner of those names being good, truthful or pure for whatever the reason. On the other hand, _Vlakhavlakh_ is a structure made of two words put together, which links them in a relative, possessive or adjective way. _Vlakh_ means 'power', _vlakha_ means 'dragon'. Literally, 'power of the dragon'. Which is a hint to my… peculiar aspect. Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

"Unneeded linguistic lesson aside, pretty cool name," Yang commented before Weiss could.

"Thanks. There's a reason why the native speakers of this language wait until adulthood before giving permanent names." He grimaced. "Some parents really have no shame. Take Blake for example. Think what would've happened had she been called 'Smith'. Blake Smith? Seriously?"

Yang snorted at the pun before Jaune spoke up. "H-How do you know her name?"

"I kidnapped all of you in a split second and you think knowing your names is beyond me?" Khor chuckled lightly. "So naive. Anyway, let's get to the reason why I've brought you all here, shall we?"

"Yes, we shall," Goodwitch scowled. Everyone was suddenly reminded that, despite how seemingly harmless their kidnapper was, they had still been taken against their will.

"Well, it has something to do with a hero. An ultra hero from another world, one you shall never meet. Probably. Honestly, I hope you don't because that would cause some _teeny-weeny_ problems. Anyway." He waved his hands around as if to dispel the thought. "You've been chosen to watch another universe. A projection will show you what happens in that universe. Don't ask why you were chosen, because I don't know. I'm the employee, not the employer. Even if I was, there is no solid reason. So! Any question before we start?"

"Yes, one," Pyrrha spoke up. "How is this possible?"

"Magic?" guessed Penny.

"And the prize for the correct answers goes to Penny Polendina." A golden trophy in the form of a thumbs-up appeared in Penny's hands, much to everyone's shock. "Yes, magic. It can do a lot of things. Now, everyone's ready, goodbye and enjoy your time here. I'll be back soon. Probably."

Khor began to briskly walk away as one by one, all the crystals lit up and began to project images on the walls. "Oh, one more thing," he called out to them as he disappeared from view. "If the volcano erupts, pray, because you're on your own!"

"What?!" everyone shouted, running after him, but he was long gone.

"Everyone, please calm down," Ozpin immediately took control of the situation. "He has no reason to harm us. He was probably just making fun of us."

"Ozpin's right. He does look the type to do that," Qrow nodded grumpily. "So… anybody has any ideas on how to get out, or do we just sit down and watch this movie?"

"It's an alternative universe," Ironwood corrected him before all the adults turned to the children, who were already sitting down to watch. "And I believe they made that choice for us."

All the adults subtly groaned in sync before slowly walking back to the teenagers and sitting down behind them.

**Space. a vast and infinite place, filled with countless worlds and and endless civilizations. the whole universe itself is filled with vast wonders and many threats alike. but none are more incredible, more fantastic, and more legendary than the world that resides in Nebula M78.**

"Remnant's better," Nora stated adamantly.

"Yeah, no booing our world in our presence!" Yang immediately backed her up.

"Are they seriously accepting that there are _other_ universes so easily?!" Ironwood asked to anyone who was listening. "Because I'm honestly shocked to hear that."

Qrow shrugged and passed him his flask. "One of these and you won't be shocked any more."

**The world of M78, which has come to be known as The Land of Light, has a rich and deep history. long ago the Land of Light was home to a race of people who looked exactly like humans. they lived in a beautiful paradise, that knew no war, hunger, or strife and the people of M78 lived in true peace and happiness.**

"Booooooring," Yang grumbled. "No fights, no combat, no spars, no thrill? Come on! What kind of a planet is that?"

Ironwood quickly took Qrow up on his offer.

**However, tragedy soon struck the people of M78.**

Yang felt bad for what she'd just said.

**For you see, the sun that the planet orbited around suddenly withered and died. and the Land of Light soon began to fall victim to the bitter cold of space, the planet began to freeze and it seemed that the once beautiful world and its inhabitants were doomed. however not all hope was lost, and the people of M78 never gave up on saving their home and its people.**

"Huh, honestly I don't understand why's that," Nora admitted, scratching her head.

"It's advanced astrology," explained Penny, cheerful as ever. "Despite Dust not working past the stratosphere, we can still use it to create telescopes to watch the universe from afar. The sun is what warms the planet. It's an immense mass of scalding gases that are constantly burning."

"How long until that burns out?" Jaune asked, feeling a little nervous.

Ironwood chuckled. "Our scientists can only make hypothesises, but even the most dramatic of them would say millions of years at the very least. Humanity might very well not even exist any more when the sun finally dies."

All the students sighed in relief at that.

**The best and Brightest minds of the Land of Light came together and came up with a plan to save their world And its people. and after many years of trial, error, and development they had finally created that which Would save their home.**

**And they called it, The Plasma Spark.**

**The Plasma Spark was created to act as an artificial sun, that generates incredible power and light. with it the people of M78 were saved and the once cold and dark world was once again bathed in light once again.**

"Is that possible?" asked Ren. "To be able to produce such energy, I mean."

"I calculate that even if we could convert all types of Dust into a type we could use to produce pure energy, it would still take several times more than the Dust the planet can produce in centuries," Penny guessed, and correctly so. "I suppose they must've had another type of energy to use."

"Maybe. Atlas has been looking into other sources but thus far, Dust is by far the best option," Ironwood added.

Everyone not from Atlas rolled their eyes. Whenever it came to science, Atlas stepped forward with more than a little arrogance.

**However none of the inhabitants of the Land of Light could've expected what happened the moment they activated the plasm spark. As the energy of Plasma Spark showered the Land of Light with its energy, the power of the Artificial sun had an unforeseen affect on the people who lived on it.**

**The energy of the Plasma Spark and Transformed the people of M78, and they were gifted with incredible powers the likes of which no one has ever seen before.**

"Like Semblances?" Ruby wondered. "I mean, for us they're normal, but for people without them it might not be."

Blake blinked, surprised. "I didn't think of that. I guess that maybe, not all universes have found a way to unlock the soul via Aura."

"That's a scary thought," Jaune commented, frowning. "I mean, without Aura, humanity would've been doomed long ago. Or… maybe they don't have Grimm? It did say they had no wars…"

**And so a new dawn had come. And with it came the Birth of a new kind of hero.**

**This, was the birth of the Ultras.**

"Down with superheroes, yay for ultraheroes!" Nora exclaimed excitedly.

"Nora, ultraheroes isn't a word," Ren tiredly reminded her.

"And so?"

**With their newfound powers and abilities the newly born Ultras decided to use their powers to defend the universe from the forces of darkness. to better do this the Ultras created the Space Garrison, an intergalactic force that patrolled the universe and helped anyone in need from the various threats that sought to destroy them.**

"That's cool," commented Yang. "I wonder if they've ever reached our planet."

Ironwood sighed and drank more of the alcohol before passing to Ozpin, who had his hand outstretched. "Ultra warriors patrolling the universe and destroying evil. I'll believe that when the Grimm are wiped out."

"It does sound quite unbelievable, but perhaps we are too far away to be reached." Goodwitch frowned. "Though… we _have_ been somehow brought here. Maybe it's not as impossible as it seems."

"I still think this is just me in a drunken stupor." Qrow then grumbled something about wishing there were chicks instead of kids, making her suppress a growl.

**And so the heroic acts of the Ultras of M78 were made known throughout the cosmos. from battling Various and Destructive monsters known as Kaiju, to thwarting Alien invasions From aliens such as the likes of the Alien Temperor on other worlds. and so peace set itself upon the galaxy and beyond.**

**However even the most heroic souls can be tempted by power. for you see one day long ago in The Land of Light a young and promising Ultraman, who had been tempted by its incredible power, had entered the chamber of the Plasma Spark and had attempted to take its power for himself.**

"Of course there had to be someone who wanted more power," Weiss sighed and face-palmed. Most Atlasians were power-hungry one way or the other so it wasn't really new to her.

"But isn't this 'Plasma Spark' a bit too strong for anyone to handle?" wondered Pyrrha. "I mean, if they received immense powers just because of its presence…"

**However the power was too much for him, and had burned his body from its intensity. And so, for attempting to take the power of the Plasma Spark he was exiled from the Land of Light and cast out from his home planet.**

"So it's without war but not without conflicts," noted Goodwitch. "I wonder if this was a one-time thing, or if they resolved wars by exiling all the contenders."

**However what would happen next would be forever remembered as one of the Land of Lights darkest hours.**

"And of course exiling the power-hungry guy would come back to bite them in the butt later," Jaune sighed sarcastically, with Ruby nodding as well. Both of them liked comics, so that was a clear red flag for them.

"Well, keeping them close to that source of power would've probably been even worse," Weiss countered, trying to bring some logic into it.

"Not necessarily," Penny replied. "After all, if they hadn't they would've still been able to keep him under surveillance. While in exile, he might be able to find another source of energy and use it to get revenge."

Both comics readers solemnly nodded. That was very true.

**The sound of a flashing colour was all that could be heard throughout the asteroid that drifted through space. and laying on this asteroid was as wounded and exiled Ultraman.**

**He laid there, as his body burned and singed. pain shooting throughout his body because he had tried to take a power that was to much for him. and because of his selfish desire for power, he was cast out from his home and banished from it, never to return.**

**And so he laid there, wounded and alone. or so he thought.**

**"So this is how they treat their best?" A sudden and dark voice spoked, making the Ultra look up at the owner.**

"BOOM! Evil overlord or entity that offers them power or straight-out corrupts them," Ruby stated matter-of-factly, not even flinching at the sudden voice.

"Ruby, this is not one of your comics," Weiss sighed, frustrated.

"Well, watch and you'll see!"

**Who's there?" the Ultra asked as he looked up, and what he saw made his blood freeze.**

**The being in question couldn't even be called natural in any way. his whole body glowed an evil shade of blood red, that had a dark and powerful aura roaring around him like a tsunami of raw and evil power.**

**Hovering over him was without a Doubt one of the single and most evil beings in all the Multiverse. who's dark and evil spirit radiated an evil power around it. and as the Ultraman gazed upon this terrible evil, he knew who he was.**

Everyone fell silent for a few moments.

"Well, called it," Ruby shrugged.

"Are they forgetting this is supposed to be an actually existing universe?" Ironwood whispered to Ozpin.

The man shrugged as well. "I can only guess they didn't really believe that, and they are just having fun watching a movie," he replied. "Honestly, I can't blame them. For as long as I've lived, never I've been through something so weird."

**Alien Reiblood. the Shepherd of Monsters.**

"Uh, how powerful is this guy?" asked Yang.

"Probably the most powerful being in the universe," Pyrrha replied, kinda nervous.

"Well, that's not certain," Jaune interjected. "It said it was the most evil, not the strongest. Otherwise I think it would've done something already, no?"

"Maybe he was waiting for the right time to strike?" Ruby offered.

"Perhaps, though it looks like he was waiting for something to happen first…"

**"I am Reiblood. I reign the universe." the evil spirit declared, as the Ultraman steadily got to his feet. And even though Reiblood lacked a mouth, the Ultra somehow knew he was smiling evilly with what he said next "I will give you the power you seek."**

**And before the Ultra could even react, Reiblood suddenly shot forward and slammed into the Ultraman head first and slowly began to sink into his body, causing the exiled Ultraman to cry out in pain as Reibloods spirit and dark power began to flow into him.**

"Yeah, totally waiting for something to happen, in this case, someone to be exiled," nodded Jaune. "What confuses me is something else. Why would they exile someone if they knew something like this could happen?"

"Maybe they didn't know he was out there?" Pyrrha tried to answer, but the blonde shook his head.

Penny replied for him. "No, the 'Ultraman' recognized him. And they are capable of travelling the universe. They must be aware of his existence. Maybe he's not very powerful and they don't fear him."

"He's stronger than an Ultraman, by far," Yang pointed out. "He took over like nothing."

**"No, Stop!" he cried out as Reiblood chuckled darkly. and then, as the last of Reibloods essence entered the screaming Ultraman, the transformation had finished.**

**Gone was the warrior of light. And in his place was a being of pure darkness and unrelenting hatred that burned with the intensity of a thousand stars.**

**And so this was the Birth of a new and terrible evil. a dark warrior who only sought out to destroy the land of light, all of its people, and claim the universe and all other universes for himself, drown them in eternal chaos under his tyrannical rule.**

**and so the multiverse would hear his name, and know fear.**

"Sorry to say, but it's a typical format for comics. Either a fallen hero or a normal person happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, a villain long believed defeated or whatever takes control of them, and there the peace goes," Jaune yawned.

"Yes, Friend Jaune, but Mr Khor said this world exists in the universe," Penny countered his claim. "Which means it's all actually happening somewhere in the universe."

"Again, I'm not gonna believe that until one of those guys show up in Remnant," snorted Qrow.

**Belial.**

Blake gave an involuntary whimper. "Blake, are you okay?" asked her partner, concerned.

"I'm fine. Belial is just a name from a book I've read. It's basically a god demon, extremely powerful and extremely evil," she replied, shrugging off her worry. "I'm sure that even if it's not a coincidence, it's just a name to show it's strong and evil."

**And so gifted with Reibloods power the newly born dark Ultra was gifted with a terrible weapon, aptly named the Giga Battlenizer. with it Belial could summon over a hundred Monsters, all under his control, and with it he returned to the land of light and brought upon a catastrophe that brought only destruction the M78. And as Belial brought his terrible wrath on his home world, Reibloods voice whispered to him, saying only one thing to him.**

**"Belial! Destroy it all! Terminate the Ultramen and destroy the Land of Light!" **

**And it would seem as though Belial would succeed in annihilating his old home and bring chaos to all in the universe and beyond.**

"Okay, how is a weapon supposed to summon monsters?" Yang asked, puzzled and a bit disgusted by the gore in the projection.

"Magic?" Penny offered, turning away as well, not having any other answers.

**But once again a miracle had arrived.**

**For as Belial did battle with his old friend Ken, someone had heeded the call of the Ultramen, and his arrival could not have been more needed than. A bright light suddenly shine down onto the Land of Light and knocked Belial away, making him lose his grip on the Giga Battlenizer. And as The savior of the land of light descended, everyone knew who he was.**

**He was only whispered through legends and rumors, all of which claiming him to be a God of incredible power and wise beyond all others.**

**And his name, Ultraman King.**

"Okay, honestly I was expecting a last minute comeback, not an ultra-powerful ally arriving in the nick of time," Jaune admitted, knowing comics only helped so far.

"Well, we still have to see if it's gonna be powerful enough to fight this 'Belial'," Pyrrha replied, worried. "If he destroyed an entire world of super warriors, maybe it won't be enough."

**The Ultras could only stare in awe at the sight of Ultraman King, even if they have never seen him before they somehow knew just from his sheer presence alone, which shined and radiated power unlike anything anyone has ever seen before, that this was the legendary Ultra himself.**

"I guess we can agree this guy's even stronger," commented Yang.

"Perhaps," Ozpin hummed thoughtfully. It certainly looked like that, but the battle had yet to start.

**"Belial! He who dishonors the Land of Light!" the legendary Ultra said as Belial got to his feet, but as the dark Ultra managed to stand up king suddenly thrusted both his hands forward as they shined with a golden light, and then Belial became binded by golden energy and began to rise into the sky as king used his godly power to lift the struggling dark Ultra up higher and higher.**

**"Stop! Let me go!"****Belial cried out as he continued to try to break lose from his binds, but it was all for naught as he was lifted up higher and higher and finally into orbit.**

**"You shall pay for your sins in the darkness!" king said as he closed his hands into fists, and the screaming Belial was engulfed by metal and stone, until his screams were silenced by his newly formed prison "forever!"**

"I guess we can now say this 'Ultraman King' is far far stronger than Belial," Yang commented, amazed by his power.

It is to be said that Yang, despite not being an actual bully and being _far_ from her mother's own personality, respected power a lot. So much that sometimes she disrespected those without it on default.

She was a good person. No one was perfect.

**The other Ultras could only look on in shock and awe at the prison, amazed by how easily King had bested the seemingly unstoppable Belial.**

**And with Belial's defeat the monsters where easily bested not soon afterwards. and once again peace returned to the land of light.**

* * *

**With Belial now imprisoned and his Monsters defeated, King then sealed the Giga Battlenizer In the valley of flames where it would remained sealed for all of time.**

**And so peace had been restored to the land of light and the Ultramen continued to fight for peace across the cosmos.**

"Peace again, end of story," Weiss sighed in slight disappointment. "Though I guess it's a happy ending, or at least a bittersweet one."

**However despite all this the temptation for power still remained**

**For many eons later after Belials defeat, and after many battles and horrors stopped by the elite fighting force known as the Ultra Brothers, yet another Ultra had entered the chamber of the Plasma Spark, seeking to claim its power as Belial did so long ago.**

**He was Young; immature. Tempted by power. And was at risk of losing his soul to evil just like Belial. And quite possibly becoming a even worse monster than the dark Ultra himself.**

**However, there was one who would not allow him to fall into darkness.**

* * *

**The light within the chamber of the Plasma Spark shined like a Star, and the Glowing sphere that was the life source of the Land of Light radiated pure and vast energy unlike any other.**

**However there was someone drawing closer to the artificial sun, the sihlouette of a Ultraman could be seen through the Light as he stood before the Plasma Spark, and then began to reach out for it.**

**'This is it. This is where all of our training has lead us up to. And i'm more than ready for this, I know i Am!' the Ultra thought as he was just about to touch the life source of M78, however before he could…**

"This looks really really familiar," Ruby said, referring to what happened to Belial prior his transformation.

"I guess that if people don't learn from history, they really are destined to repeat it…" Jaune quoted their history professor, Oobleck, rubbing the back of his head as he remembered just why the green-haired speedster had said those words.

**"STOP!"**

**As he was about to make contact with the Plasma Spark, a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist and yanked back, causing him to fall to the ground.**

**Angry, the Ultra swiftly turned to look and yell at whoever had stopped him, only to feel utterly shocked at who it was.**

**The Ultraman couldn't be seen fully from the intense light, but what could be made out from his silhouette was a pair of horns on the side of his head.**

**"WHY!?" the downed Ultra cried out, and the horned one couldn't stop Himself from wincing at the slightest hint of betrayal that cou be heard in his voice.**

**"Stay away from that! You can't handle that kind of power!" The horned Ultraman said trying to put some form of reasoning to the other Ultra, but it was all for naught as the other Ultraman angrily got to his feet to look the horned Ultra in the eye.**

**"Why not?! We're both more than strong enough to get this power!" he said as he yelled out, "this is what we both trained for! to be the best! to be the strongest!" he shouted.**

**"Yes i know that but i can't allow you to do this!" the Horned Ultra cried trying desperately to make the other see the fault of his actions "please! you have to understand, if you were to try and take that power now you would only lose yourself to it! you're not ready!"**

**And yet despite his friends warnings the other Ultra only scoffed, "don't underestimate me! i'm ready!" he said as he made another move for the Plasma Spark, however before he could…**

"Arrogance, or pride. I can't tell, but I believe it's the former," said Weiss.

"What's the difference?" asked Jaune.

"Pride is rightfully knowing how powerful you are and acknowledging your strength," Weiss explained, gesturing to Yang, who grinned. "Arrogance is overestimating your own power, believing the power you do have is enough to let you do something you can't do, or simply being too proud of your strength to the point of being corrupted by it."

**"Don't move!" a authoritative voice suddenly called out causing the two to look over at a group of new Ultramen. The one that spoke stood out the most, he was much older in appearance and had a pair of sideburns on the side of his face as well as a flowing mantle, the most notable thing of his appearance was the large pair of horns on his head. behind him was also four other Ultramen, while all different in appearance, all dressed in a flowing mantle.**

**"You're in violation of Ultra Law." the older horned Ultra said as he pointed at the first silhouette "come with us!" and with that the Ultras behind him rushed forward and apprehended the younger Ultra, and as he struggled in their grip He managed to look ov to the younger horned Ultra "You brought them here!" he cried out as he was dragged away.**

"Ouch, I'm guessing we know where this is going," winced Nora.

"Maybe they've learned from their mistakes and they have changed the laws," Penny offered hopefully. "After all, if exiling someone resulted in total chaos and destruction last time, maybe they decided on a different, more efficient punishment."

"That would make sense," nodded Ironwood. "Unfortunately they probably just blamed it on who Belial once was, instead of blaming their own system. After all, once you start doubting your peace, it crumples."

**"You didn't leave me any choice!" he cried back, meanwhile the older horned Ultraman could only look at the younger horned Ultra with pity. However he returned his attention to the struggling Ultraman and spoke, "you know longer qualify as a Ultra Warrior, and you shall be punished accordingly! Take him away!"**

**"LET ME GO! LET GO OF ME!" the Ultra yelled out as he was dragged out of the Plasma Sparks chamber, kicking and screaming all the way. And as this was happening the larger horned Ultra looked back to the other horned Ultraman, who could only look down and clench his hands tightly as a whirlwind of emotions roared within him. And seeing the younger Ultra like this, the older one could only feel pity for him.**

**Upon his arrest for trying to take the Plasma Sparks power, the younger Ultramam was exiled much like Belial so long ago. However his punishment wasn't as severe as the Dark Ultra Warrior. He was to be watched over by another Ultra named Ultraman Leo, and trained by him, only to return when he realized what it truly meant to be an Ultraman**

"You were right Penny, they did change the laws!" Ruby cheered.

"Though maybe it's just because he didn't actually _touch_ the Plasma Spark," Qrow was quick to burst her bubble.

"In any case, it's better that way," Pyrrha stated, and everyone agreed with her. It really was. For everyone involved, both good and bad.

**However it would be these events that would eventually lead to many conflicts ahead. For within time the forces of light and darkness, and the entire fate of the Universe and beyond would rest in the balance.**

**And only time will tell, who would be victorious.**

"And the cliffhanger ending," Jaune was quick to point out. "Another classic."

"Well, if it works, why change it?" Blake countered, knowing how important cliffhangers were in books or narrated stories.

"I never said it didn't work, I just said it's a classic," he defended himself. "By the way, are we just going to wait now?"

"Unless Mr Khor comes back, it seems there is no way out of here," Penny replied, looking around with her sensors, which were much better than a normal human's senses. "So waiting is the only option we have."

"Unless the volcano erupts, then it's praying," Qrow grumbled grouchily.


	2. Chapter 2

**_And here's chapter 2 of the commission. Still for Ultrahero74. Enjoy!_**

"So, anyone got anything to talk about?" Yang called out. The adults stayed silent, but the other teenagers surely didn't.

"It's pretty cool," Jaune commented, shrugging slightly. "I mean, sure, they skipped over most of the action but it's nice. Weird to think it's supposed to be real though."

"I still find that hard to believe, if I'm being honest," Weiss agreed with him, thoughtful. "I mean, this 'Khor' guy just dropped us here and told us we're watching a real world's story, it's so unreal."

"I guess great minds think alike," Jaune smiled tentatively at her. She glared at him, and he sighed. "I'll just shut up."

"One day," Yang said encouragingly, patting his shoulder.

"Not if he keeps that up," Weiss was quick to pulverize that hope.

"Flirting aside, I agree with Jaune, this is so weird," Blake spoke up. Not even in her books something like that had ever happened, and to be honest she'd read a lot of different books and literatures so she was fairly knowledgeable in the field. "And without any reason, either. I just don't understand…"

"Perhaps we will find out in the future," Pyrrha interjected with a smile. "After all, I doubt he would just make us watch another world for no reason at all."

"I'm still just shocked that we never heard of him before," Ren admitted. "I mean, everything else can be explained. Dust isn't the only mineral in the planet, and projectors can be hidden behind or inside those crystals. A Semblance that can teleport people is not too improbable either – he must've trained it a lot to be able to do that. But if he's rich enough to gather all these gems here – believe me, there's no place on Remnant with so many gems and so different – and he has such a powerful Semblance, how comes we never heard of him?"

"Maybe he likes his privacy," Weiss suggested, though she had her doubts as well. "He might have a company under another name, maybe his real one, and always keeps to himself. Not all rich people enjoy having the media's attention. Not to mention, such a Semblance would paint a huge target on his back."

Ozpin frowned. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but that behaviour sounded too much like someone who served Salem. Remaining in the shadows but keeping wealth and connections with the higher-ups, training a powerful Semblance to the point of near invincibility, and not having or giving any reason for their actions. Salem could also easily provide all those gems – there were countless mines in the known Grimmlands and thousands more in lands no man had ever seen. Projectors could be easily bought by one of her servants.

He shared a glance with the rest of his allies, who all nodded grimly. They must've made the same connection as he had. They would need to ask Khor a few questions if he were to come back, though they'd need to be careful. If he worked for Salem, then he obviously knew them.

Was all that a plot to kill them and Ozpin's best students? He had no idea why Penny would be there, but she might be someone important as well.

No, or the whole projection thing wouldn't have happened. Maybe they'd be attacked later, but for the time being they were safe. If Khor had wanted to kill them, or to try to, he would've teleported them over an active volcano or something.

"I believe the projection is about to continue," Penny cheerfully informed everyone, pointing at the now glowing crystals.

Everyone quieted down and waited for it to start. It took a few seconds, but soon the glow subsided and the projection continued.

_**Stories scattered through time"**_

Ozpin froze in shock. He knew that voice all too well. "It can't be…"

His Inner Circle looked at him. They'd never heard Salem's voice, but they could easily guess who it belonged to given Ozpin's reaction. That was pretty much a dead giveaway.

"An old flame of yours?" Yang grinned teasingly, not knowing just how spot on she actually was. The fact that old flame had actually killed him several times was irrelevant, since it didn't change the fact Salem had indeed loved Ozma, and it had been reciprocated. Once upon a time.

"No, someone I know but not a good person," the Headmaster replied grimly. While he would never tell students so young about Salem, telling them she was dangerous was another matter altogether. "She and I fought many times. But that's a story for another time."

"And Ms Xiao Long," Goodwitch added with a glare. "Try to be polite when talking to your teachers."

Yang had the cheek to grin at her. "Sure, Prof."

Weiss face-palmed and groaned at her behaviour.

_**"Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villiains, forgetting that we are remnants, by-products, of a forgotten past."**_ **a unknown female voice said.**

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby wondered, confused. No one could answer that. Or at least, no one who wanted to.

**A scene opens up in a artistic style showing a beautiful academy, before fading out.**

**_"Man born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful."_**

**A human silhouette is shown rising from the ground.**

_**"But he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction, the creatures of Grimm set sights on man and all his creations."**_

**Just then dark and menacing creatures of many shapes and sizes emerged from the shadows and began to surround the man.**

**_"These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void."_**

"So many years have passed, yet Grimm are still there, huh?" Blake sighed, a tad depressed. It _was_ depressing to think that in millennia, humanity still hadn't managed to get rid of the Grimm. Nineteen twentieths of the world was in the Grimm's hands, after all.

"Grimm clearly don't reproduce, so they must be born in some other way we cannot stop," Ironwood replied, though he was just as dejected. "We can stop them from destroying us, but even if they were to stop coming to this world, it'd still take us several decades before we could remove all the Grimm there are. The past millennia might've improved humanity, Ms Belladonna, but quantity is a quality of its own."

Everyone nodded grimly, knowing just how true that was. The Grimm weren't all that hard to kill, after all. It was just that they never ended.

**The scene starts to fade to black, signaling humanity's near downfall.**

_**"however, even the smallest sparks of hope are enough to ignite change."**_

**A light shines and gradually returns the scene to white.**

**_"And in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and integrity, lead them to the tools that would even the odds."_**

"That, and Dust, I guess," Weiss commented, knowing just how important the elemental crystals were for the survival of humanity. It was one of the reasons why her family had chosen to rule the Dust trade. Whoever controlled the Dust reserves could make the world kneel, and that was exactly what her father wanted. Not for domination, but for money.

"Auras and Semblances are used more than Dust, though," Pyrrha spoke up, knowing that Dust could make incredible things, but a lot of weapons could be used without the need for Dust. Projectiles were almost always made with Dust, but people like her could effortlessly kill Grimm without the need for the crystals. "I believe that's what the narrator meant by that."

**A crystal appears.**

_**"This power was appropriately called 'Dust'."**_

"Never mind, I don't know how 'passion, resourcefulness and integrity' could create Dust," the SDC heiress sighed and shook her head. "Dust is a mineral excavated from the ground. That makes it sound like humanity _created_ Dust and that there wasn't any before."

Qrow looked at Ozpin, who shrugged. He had been dead while Dust was created, so he knew nothing of its origins. He thought it had been the Brothers' last gift to humanity. Heartless as they were, they gave their playthings a chance.

He was still very bitter about the whole 'resurrection only to kill the love of your life who got cursed because she loved him more than she respected the Gods'.

**The crystal lowers until it was in the reach of several human figures.**

**_"Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life_**

**The scene zooms out to show men shooting Lightning, raising swords, and raising rifles at the retreating beasts as a castle appears behind them.**

**the scene then changes to show a map of the world that they have come to know as Remnant, and all four of it's kingdoms and every one of its settlements.**

"Why isn't Menagerie one of them?" Blake asked suspiciously. No one but her team knew of her Faunus heritage, but that was a perfectly normal question so she didn't worry about being found out.

"No idea, maybe it's pretty old and Menagerie didn't exist yet," Ren shrugged, not really bothered by it. Despite being the biggest cities, the four capitals weren't the _only_ cities in Remnant, so smaller ones might've been overlooked. "Besides, Menagerie isn't officially considered a kingdom, is it?"

"No, I guess that might be the reason..."

_**"But even the most brilliant of lights eventually flicker and die."**_

**_"And when they are gone... darkness will return."_**

"And light will rise up again!" Ruby exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

**Suddenly the map was being swallowed by a form of Darkness. it began to spread slowly across the map as if seemingly devouring it.**

_**"So you prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so-called free world, but take heed... for there will be no victory in strength".**_

**The darkness spreaded out until only one spot remained untouched, but even that was seemingly about to be consumed.**

**but then...**

_**"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten" **_**said a male voice.**

Everyone looked at Ozpin, shocked. "Professor Ozpin?" they all exclaimed in sync.

He frowned. "It makes sense. The first narrator was someone who could be called my archenemy. It makes sense I would counter her claims."

**a bright pillar of light suddenly shot upward, driving away the darkness from the lands.**

_**"Things that require a smaller, more honest soul."**_

**"However, everyone is entitled to some help." suddenly spoke another unknown male voice.**

**"And if you asked me about destiny or fate, all i would say those concepts are pointless."**

**the pillar got higher and higher, and a figure began to appear inside it.**

**"We make our own destinies, and because of that... fate is always changing."**

**"So hold on to those hopes and dreams, because if you do you, you'll go farther than you can ever dream of."**

**and the figures presence in the world will change the course of Remnants history forever.**

"Those are some inspiring words," smiled Ren, always one for philosophy. "Hope is the last to die, after all, so those who hold onto it would be the last ones to sink into darkness."

Most just smiled but rolled their eyes at him. He could be very wise, but at times he could be odd in his own ways.

* * *

**Light.**

**That was the only thing that could be seen in a void filled with golden light, as it shimmered and sparkled in a myraid of colors everywhere one looked.**

**However this void wasn't entirely empty, as two figures stood before in it. Both of them Ultramen, giants of light and of incredible power, but were also diffrent in appearance as well.**

**The first was mostly red in color, with his head being a silver like gray. he also had gray markings running across his body. he had a form of protective armor around his upper torso that had a blue glowing gem in the center of his chest, and a crest on his head along with a pair of horns curving upward. another feature was a bracelet on his left wrist that looked like a golden crown. and finally had a long flowing white mantle in the form of a scarf.**

**The second one however, was a legendary Ultraman that many in the Universe Knew, who weilds vast and unimaginable power the likes of which rarely few have seen. The Legendary Ultraman King.**

"I think I've seen the horny guy before, and then there's that guy again," Nora commented, rubbing her chin as if in deep thought, trying to remember where she'd seen the guy.

Most people face-palmed. "Nora, it's horned, not horny," Weiss explained, a tad embarrassed but not enough to stop herself from correcting her.

"I believe the horned man is the Faunus from the last projection," Penny stated cheerfully, and everyone nodded. It had been said he would be taught by someone. For that someone to be the 'Ultraking' or whatever, it was very lucky for him to have such a teacher.

**"You have done well my young student" King said in a royal and compassionate like voice. "You have passed all of your tests, and you have learned much in your trials. Now you are ready to rejoin your brothers once again."**

**"My brothers?" the horned giant said in a mature form of voice.**

**At that moment, images appeared around the two Ultras. Visons of other Ultramen of various appearances, all of them displaying incredible powers and abilities. And doing great acts of heroism and courage as they faced off against countless enemies, and nightmarish monsters.**

A few were slightly intimidated by the monsters shown by the projection, but for people living with the incarnation of evil and darkness living just beyond their walls, those images weren't _that_ scary. More like unsettling.

**King nodded as the visons surrounding them began to change, "yes. you are more than ready to return home and fufill your duty. but there is one final task you must do which is of grave importance." he said in a more serious tone of voice.**

**It was then that the image of a world appeared before the two of them, making the horned Ultra turn to look at it.**

**"Behold this world young warrior" The Legendary Ultra said as he pointed towards the planet in the image "this, is the World of Remnant. And it is in grave danger." He said as the world was slowly being engulfed in darkness. "There are evil forces here, powerful and dark beings who have waged a war that has lasted for thousands of years." then as the darkness engulfed Remnant, a figure of a woman appeared, her very shadowy image let off a evil like aura.**

"Is that woman the one from the narration?" Ruby wondered before something struck her. "Wait, did he say Remnant? As in, our planet? Are they going to go to Remnant?"

"It's just a projection, Ruby," Weiss reminded her. "We have no idea what it really is. That man said it's a real world but I doubt it."

"He did bring us here magically though," Penny countered.

"It must've been a Semblance. A powerful one, but a Semblance nonetheless," Weiss replied, waving a hand as if to dispel the very thought of magic. "And this must be something like a movie."

Ruby and Nora, being the two naivest, exchanged glances. They honestly didn't know what to believe. A teleporting Semblance was rare, one so powerful even more so. Was it really that hard to believe Khor used magic?

**"These dark forces seek to bring only chaos and destruction apon Remnant, and all of of its people. but there is something much more sinister at work here." King said as he turned back to the other giant with a grave tone of voice "there is something truley evil in Remnant. A force of terrible and dark power that far exceeds the forces if Darkness that have plagued it for so long. And i fear that if it is not stopped, this world will only be the beginning of the destruction that will be made."**

**The horned Ultra remained silent as he absorbed this foreboding information. before he looked back up to King and asked one thing in a serious and determined voice "what do i have to do?"**

**King nodded as he waves his arm, and the images of the world change. "This is your task, you must Go to Remnant at once, and defeat the evil that dwells within it!" King declared as he waved out his hand causing a portal to appear before the two of them. Its destination, Remnant. Be strong and have faith, and always remember that you are a True Ultra Warrior, now go forth!"**

**"Go forth Ultraman Taro!"**

"Well, at least now we know his name," commented Jaune, though he was still thinking about what Weiss said. Maybe Khor had used a Semblance to bring them in that mine, but there was no way a place like that actually existed. And to create it, one would need to have a powerful earth-manipulating Semblance. Two Semblances that powerful with everyone none the wiser seemed a bit unrealistic. Yet again, so was magic.

**And so with his task clear and his destination set, the now named Ultraman Taro raised up his left arm as the braclet on his wrist shined brightly and he was engulfed in sphere of red light. and like a speeding comet it shot upward, heading out at incredible speeds straight towards the World of Remnant.**

**Indeed the World of Remnant was going to get its miracle. and it wasn't just super. Its ULTRA!**

"Well, at least every now and then, even we get some luck," Yang commented, rolling her eyes. It wasn't completely wrong - with Grimm and criminals using Aura, it was pretty hard to call Remnant a perfect world.

* * *

**(cue* Ultraman Taro Theme Song)**

**_TARO!_**

_**Ultraman Number Six! **_

_**There's the Father of Ultra,**_

**_There's the Mother of Ultra,_**

_**And here before us stands Taro!**_

_**Look to the sky, look to the stars, look to the cosmos!**_

**_Behold the red flame shooting towards us!_**

**_When the Earth is Threatend_**

_**The badge on his arm will shine bright! **_

**_Taro takes to the skies!_**

**_Taro fights to save our lives!_**

**_Taro! Taro! Taro! _**

**_Ultraman Taro!_**

"Is that a theme song of some kind?" Weiss exclaimed, shocked.

Ruby and Jaune both immediately jumped up and high-fived. "Aw-yeah! That's awesome!" exclaimed the crimsonette.

"No anime is complete without a theme song, or an intro, and this looks like is the former!" Jaune added, grinning just as much as his best friend.

"Get a hold of yourselves, you two," Weiss groaned. "Now it's not the time to fangirl about theme songs."

"Well, if not now, then when?" Jaune retorted with a frown, not at all offended by the 'fangirl' thing even if he was a boy.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. So if she were to step between Jaune and his comics, he'd leave her alone and not flirt with her any longer? She decided that once they went back, she'd find and burn all of his comics, down to the very last one. "Never."

Ruby and Jaune both gasped in outrage. "Blasphemy!"

"Do you think we will see more of this?" Penny asked Pyrrha, since she was the closest by.

"Probably we will," nodded Blake. "It'd be pointless to show us this but nothing else, not to mention a waste of time since so far it was just exposition."

"Well, I for one hope this will be over soon," stated Yang, stretching. Jaune and Ren both made an effort to look away from her chest, where her breasts were straining the fabric. She smirked. It worked every time. "I mean, this is fun and all, but I think I'd prefer being back in Beacon."

"She's right, it'd be awful if we were to be trapped here," Penny agreed, a note of despair entering her voice.

"Don't worry, Penny, we won't be trapped in here!" Ruby exclaimed cheerfully, before adding, "…Right?"

_**By the way, they were kidnapped... ehm... taken before the foodfight, which means it's between V1 and V2. Blake hasn't told she's a Faunus to JNPR. Jaune still flirts with Weiss. Weiss still hates him.**_

_**Weiss now has a plan.**_

_**Until next time,**_

_**Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Here I am again. I know, my updates have been REALLY slow. Looking back, it'd be a miracle if I updated each story once a month. I guess that with six active stories that can't be helped, especially if I have a life outside of fanfictions (which I don't, not really), but I still feel like I've been letting you guys down. Which sucks since I've been trying my hardest._**

**_Anyway, here's the next chapter of this story, hope you enjoy. Still commissioned by Ultrahero74_**

Ozpin's group was suspicious, but strangely enough, Ozpin himself was the least worried of them all.

True, he did not know their kidnapper's motives, but if he hadn't harmed them in any way, then maybe he had other plans in mind. Taking them out of the picture for a while might've been it – but eventually he could've done it simply by killing them and be done with it. No, for some reason Mr Vlakhavlakh wanted them to see that projection. And he seriously doubted it could be a prank – it was far too elaborated. An illusion was out of the question since it was too perfect, and involving too many people, to be an illusion.

Of course, very skilled illusionists could still manage, but again, it didn't make any sense. If Mr Vlakhavlakh was working with Salem, then having them all at his mercy should've resulted in death, not… whatever that was.

Furthermore, they had been in there for over an hour. To maintain such a complex, detailed illusion encompassing all five senses, on so many people, would'vea very hard task. He doubted anyone would be able to ever train enough to succeed.

Except for Salem.

But straight-up moves like that weren't her style. True, wiping out an entire century's true defenders meant Grimm would then go wild and civilization would fall, but eventually she would not have won – and every time humanity hit a new low, they always managed to rise even higher.

She wanted to keep humanity dependant on Ozpin and his warriors. If they were left to fend for themselves, they would eventually become stronger than the Grimm, with or without the Wizard. She wanted to amass enough forces to strike once and for all, not start an endless war neither could really win. Even if that was what it currently looked like from an outside view.

So, eventually, Mr Vlakhavlakh couldn't have really been one of her servants. It not only didn't fit her style nor her goals, but it made no sense at all even if one were to take in consideration Salem had decided to change tactics.

Which probably meant he was acting on his own. As much as he knew he shouldn't underestimate him just because he wasn't with Salem, Ozpin couldn't help but be relieved by that. Mr Vlakhavlakh might've been dangerous, but as long as he wasn't connected to Salem, Ozpin could tolerate it.

The same, unfortunately, could not be said for Ironwood and Goodwitch. Both of them were far too rational to be relieved by that simple knowledge. They likely wanted to get out of there, investigate Mr Vlakhavlakh, fight him, capture him, put him in jail, throw away the key and _then_ask themselves why he did all of that.

Speaking of said two, they were currently silent. Ozpin could honestly say he didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

Fortunately, he didn't have to do anything. They weren't causing trouble, and they were keeping their doubts to themselves.

The students were behaving themselves as well, as much as they could at least. They weren't panicking, nor trying to blast their way out, nor panicking _and_trying to blast their way out. They looked like they were enjoying the projection so far.

Qrow, on the other hand, looked bored out of his mind. The poor man was so far out of his element and out of his comfort zone, all he could do was take swings from that flask of his. How he still hadn't finished it, Ozpin wasn't sure. Maybe he had several identical flasks hidden in his shirt. Yes, that sounded like Qrow – he was more likely to disguise an alcohol flask than a weapon.

And Mr Vlakhavlakh looked satisfied with the results of his actions, if a bit disappointed no one had noticed him yet.

All normal after-

Ozpin turned back to the last spot he'd swept his eyes on and, true to what he'd thought, Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh was there, arms crossed over his chest and a slightly aloof look on his face.

"Ah. Someone has finally noticed me, I guess," the odd dragon-man-crystal hybrid cheered up slightly as he intercepted Ozpin's gaze with his own. Everyone else was startled by his sudden appearance. "I was beginning to think I hadn't dismissed my invisibility like I thought I did."

"You!" Ironwood and Goodwitch immediately shot up to their feet.

_'And here goes their good behaviour,'_Ozpin sighed to himself. "James, Glynda, please stand-"

_Bang_.

He'd spoken too late, or too slowly. Ironwood had already fished out his handcannon and fired a shot at the man, who just tilted his head to the right to dodge it. "So rude. I thought Atlas taught you better manners than that, General Ironwood. Surely shooting someone's head off the second they appear isn't how you greet your hosts, isn't it?"

"Teleport us back home, now," Ironwood commanded sternly, thought he kept his temper in check.

"No."

A purple aura enveloped the man and slammed him against the wall hard enough for spider-web cracks to form in a wide radius around him. Unlike Ironwood, Goodwitch had no second thoughts about fuelling her anger into aggressivity.

"Glynda, let him go, _now_." Ozpin hated giving orders like that, but sometimes he knew it would be the only way – convincing them to stand down would take too long, and given how Mr Vlakhavlakh had replied to Ironwood, it was likely he would just aggravated them further instead of seeking a calm conversation.

The woman growled in frustration, but did as she was told. Mr Vlakhavlakh slid back down the fall without changing expression, as if that were to be a daily occurrence. "Ah, thank you for that. It is quite difficult to have a civil conversation with someone who slams you into walls or shoots you in the face. Wouldn't want to get angry at each other so early on, would we?"

Ozpin frowned. He really was pushing it. "Mr Vlakhavlakh, I assume you're here to return us to our homes, am I right?"

"Actually no, you're staying here for a while still. Sorry 'bout that, hehe, nothing personal honestly. Business is business, and this is just business." The man dusted himself off and took a few steps towards them, causing both Ironwood, Goodwitch and Qrow to tense. "Whoa, no need for speed_y violence_. I'm just here to talk. Doesn't seem fair for you to gang up on me when I'm just talking."

"Doesn't seem fair for you to teleport us here against our will and keep us trapped here," Qrow retorted with a scowl.

"Too bad, but the good news are – you won't be trapped in here alone any longer! Which means you'll be getting companions, before I get your hopes up." A set of groans echoed out. Even the students, who despite everything were enjoying the projection, would've really preferred not to be there but back home. "You'll know some of them! But all of them will be somewhat familiar with at least one of you. Are you ready? First one, is a certain… let me see… Winter Schnee."

"Winter?" Weiss repeated, shocked.

"You kidnapped Specialist Schnee?" Ironwood fumed. His patience might've been great, but even he had his limits.

"That I did," Vlakhavlakh nodded with a grin before giant blue crystal appeared in the middle of the cave. Soon, as if hit by an invisible force, it shattered, leaving in its place a very confused Winter Schnee.

"What happ-"

"Moving on, our next guest will be Taiyang Xiao Long." Just like before, a large blue crystal appeared and shattered to reveal a flabbergasted father of two, looking around in shock.

"Wha-"

"Next up is a favourite of mine… no, actually she's at the bottom of the list. Raven Branwen." Vlakhavlakh's bored tone matched her appearance – in her case, the crystal didn't even appear. She just popped into existence in the cave.

"What the-"

"Our third treasured guest will be someone few of you will recognize, Amber Whatshername!" Khor actually knew her name, but he really didn't bother since everyone called her Amber anyway.

This time, the students had no idea who the girl was. She had light brown skin, brown hair and brown eyes. Her outfit as well was mostly brown, with some dull green. She was also a complete stranger to all the students in the room.

The adults, however, were shocked. Winter, Tai and Raven didn't know who she was, though the latter could guess her identity by the others' reaction. Ironwood, Goodwitch, Qrow and Ozpin were just shocked.

"Where-" Cutting herself off, Amber did what she'd been told to do if she felt threatened – she threw off her cloak, grabbed her staff and bashed Vlakhavlakh on the head with it.

Breaking one of his horns.

The man yelped and backed away, rubbing the stump. "Ouch! That might be bone but I still feel it, you know?! Who the hell taught _you_manners?"

Amber looked around, still wary, but relaxed when she saw Ozpin and his group. She grew sheepish. "Oh… sorry, I just react badly to being surprised…"

"No kidding…"

"Professor Ozpin, what's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know as well," Tai nodded, agreeing with the girl. Raven was thinking the same, but didn't voice it.

"General Ironwood, sir! What has caused this? As far as I'm aware, our military does not have any Teleport Semblances – not this powerful." It went without saying who that was.

"And now, for the final guest!" Everyone was a tad annoyed by how Khor had just interrupted their questions, but they shut up – at least one party had to be polite.

Ozpin frowned in anticipation. First Winter, then Tai, then Raven, then Amber. If that kept up, whoever appeared next would be of extreme importance to the ongoing war between Salem and himself. Would it be Salem herself? No, surely Vlakhavlakh wouldn't be as foolish as that. Maybe that man, Ultraman Taro? Again, he just couldn't see their host trying to trap beings so much powerful than himself. Maybe one of Salem's servants?

"Sun Wukong!"

Sun Wu-… what now?

Ozpin almost fell anime-style at the anticlimactic reveal. The Faunus blond appeared, just as confused as everyone else, but smiled and gave a thumbs-up as soon as he saw a certain cat Faunus in disguise. "Blake! Good to see you again! What am I doing here, by the way?"

"I'm sure Ozpin can answer that question real quick," Vlakhavlakh grinned mischievously. "Because honestly, I don't want to be here to deal with the aftermath. Oh, and Raven? Try to use your Semblance, and I'll pop you back here. But the catch is, anyone stepping through one of your portals will be brought back… a sixth smaller. Test it out if you wanna know what _that_means."

With that said, Khor exploded in a shower of tiny blue crystals.

All the newcomers found themselves speechless and dumbfounded. Which was understandable, since they'd just had their strangest encounter yet.

Ozpin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Goddammit. He knew it, he just knew Vlakhavlakh would find a way to irritate even him. As powerful as their host was, he was even more childish and immature than his students.

…

…

…

Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but the point still stood.

He turned to face the five new prisoners, who were all looking at him with various degrees of hostility -Raven- and curiosity -everyone else-, expecting him to explain. "Mr Khor Evik Vlalakhavlakh apparently has a Teleport Semblance of some kind. I know not what this place is, or where we are, or who is behind this other than Mr Vlakhavlakh, or why this happened. I'll tell you what we've been told – we're here to watch a projection of a future, our future, and learn from it. We know nothing else."

Raven made a disgusted sound. "And he thinks I'm going to take this sitting down?" She grabbed her weapon and slashed at the air, creating a swirling, bright red portal. "Goodbye."

"Wait, where do you think you're going?!" Yang shook herself from her shock at seeing her 'mother' (appellative still pending) and activated her Semblance as she looked at the woman (already better) who had abandoned her so many years ago.

"Away from here," Raven replied flatly, stepping through the portal and closing it behind her.

"Dammit Raven, at least you could've gotten-" Qrow was interrupted by Raven reappearing exactly where she'd been. "What the-"

"I'm still here?" Raven frowned, shocked. She'd just gotten a glimpse of Vernal as she stepped out of the portal, yet there she was. With her frown turning into a scowl, she slashed the air again and stepped through her gate, deaf to everyone's calls for her to stop.

Her second attempt failed just as miserably as the first.

"Raven, stop, no one can get out of here," Qrow tried to reason with her. Then his eyes fell a bit lower -he blamed his instinct of checking chicks out for that- and he halted, trying to compute what he was seeing.

Raven, following his eyes with no small amount of anger -she knew where he was looking, after all-, found herself just as shocked.

"Did I just lose two sizes?" she accidentally asked out loud, much to hers and everyone else's embarrassment.

With that commotion going on, Ozpin took the chance to speak with Amber separately.

"Amber, are you okay?" He looked her over, having already noticed the lack of injuries.

"I… I'm fine, Professor Ozpin. Just confused." Amber retracted her staff and put it away. "One moment, I'm fighting this hostile trio and I'm trapped, then I have some kind of out-of-body experience and see myself being in a coma in some kind of machine in a dungeon or something, and then I'm here. Do you know what might've happened?"

Ozpin didn't show it, but inwardly, he was in turmoil. "Apparently, Mr Vlakhavlakh's Semblance has some side-effects. We can ask him once he comes back," was what he said. However, he was thinking something else entirely.

Mr Vlakhavlakh had clearly healed Amber. No one else could've done it, and he had already shown not only a very unusual and powerful Semblance, but also an appearance that could not possibly be caused by said Semblance. He was starting to piece together a theory.

The Gods, as much as he hated them and as cruel they were, were also very powerful. He should've known they wouldn't have abandoned the world without keeping an eye on it. They hadn't done anything for millennia, but perhaps they had decided to throw humanity a figural bone by gifting someone else with the power of magic, and introducing them to the war.

Hope blossomed for the first time in years, if not centuries, in the old man's soul. Maybe, even if _he_couldn't, maybe Vlakhavlakh could kill Salem once and for all. Or even if killing her turned out to be impossible, maybe together they'd be able to trap her until all Grimm had been taken care of. Without those, her power would be immensely smaller, and easier to deal with.

Maybe, even if the war wouldn't stop, there would soon be no need for him to be constantly alert. And there would be no need to drag children into the war like he'd all too often been forced to do, not because he wanted, but because the younger they were, the more time they had to learn and change the world, no matter how small that change would be.

A small smile opened up on his face before he could stop it. "However, no matter what his answer will be, I think we can trust him. As eccentric as he may be, he's still shown no aggressive behaviour in our regards. We can give him the benefit of the doubt."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cave.

"How-?! His Semblance is Teleport, how did he do that?!" Raven was at loss for words while she stared down at her now significantly smaller chest, while her brother had finally broken out of his shock and was rolling on the floor laughing. _'This isn't possible! It's like he has magic… which is impossible because the only male who has magic is Ozpin, and even he has very little magic. I could probably kill him without breaking a sweat. Salem and the Maidens are the only ones who have magic. Did he find a way to steal it from a Maiden?'_

"Well, now I definitely don't wanna try and escape," Yang commented, her 'mother's (appellative _still_pending) predicament having lessened her anger in favour of amusement.

_'I second that,'_Weiss thought, glumly looking down as well. Not like she had anything to lose in that department, but she really didn't want to know if she could go negative.

"Makes you wonder what would happen to guys…" Jaune trailed off as he, and every other male in the room, cringed and closed their legs. "Okay, no, it doesn't really make you wonder…"

"Worried it's not gonna change much?" Yang teased him, making him sputter and turn red in embarrassment.

"Yang, that was mean and just uncalled for," her father reprimanded her, making her silently curse since she had temporarily forgotten he was there too. "Apologize."

"Sorry Jaune, I was just kidding." Yang then shot him a look that said 'accept my apology or I'll kick your balls in'. He laughed nervously and nodded.

"It- It's no big d-deal, Yang…"

"Children, please calm down." Ozpin cut into everyone's discussion, including Weiss and Winter's little family reunion (which had for some reason included Weiss getting smacked on the head). "I'm afraid no one of us is going to get out of here until we've seen everything Mr Vlakhavlakh wants us to see – namely, everything this projector has to show us. I suggest we sit down and watch."

Yang scowled, immediately thinking back to her mother. "But-"

"Ms Xiao Long, you can talk with Raven later," Ozpin interrupted her, knowing all too well that the Xiao Long family had some choice words in store for Raven. "For now, why don't we sit back and try to enjoy the show? We don't have anything else to do here."

True to his words, the projector lit up as soon as he finished talking. The Professor sat down on the ground with a small smile, feeling slightly smug at being proven correct.

**Space.**

**A vast and infinite space, filled with countless worlds and home to millions of civilizations.**

**one such world was Remnant.**

No one was particularly impressed. Despite not being able to travel through space, they still had telescopes. They could see all the stars and the planets in the universe. Well, not _all_ of them, but the point still stood.

**Remnant was home to a prospering civilization who were ruled over by four kingdoms each with their own society and cultures, as well as their own levels of technology and environments. From frozen planes to desert cities Remnant by all means was a beautiful and prosperous world.**

**But even it had its own darkness.**

**The creatures of Grimm. Soulless monsters born from darkness and only seek to destroy the life on remnant. like a Plague they ravage the world of Remnant's people, a soulless horde of fangs and claws, and will not stop until the last of mankind and all others like it are utterly destroyed.**

"So cheerful," Sun noted with a wince. "I mean, come on, it's not _that_ bad, is it? We're surviving, aren't we?"

"Yes, Mr Wukong, but barely," Goodwitch reminded him. "Humanity only owns five percent of the world. The rest is in the hands of the Grimm."

"That being said, unless tragedy strikes, it's unlikely for the Grimm to ever manage to destroy the Kingdoms," Ozpin added, trying to defuse the tension his vice's words had caused. "Hunters are too strong, and too packed close together in the modern days. They no one have to travel all the way across a continent to fight off Grimm invasions. This forced the Grimm out of the walls and for the most part, out of people's life. Some children do not even know what Grimm are, because of the Hunters' hard work."

**But as the darkness grows, so to does the light for mankind is not without its guardians. Hunters and Huntresses, the protectors of the people of Remnant and its kingdoms.**

**Trained in the huntsman academies across Remnant, and taught on how to use the mysterious power of Aura, these guardians fight valiantly against the creatures of Grimm and drive back the darkness.**

"'Mysterious'? Aura is not mysterious at all – it's one of the most studied subjects in the whole world!" Weiss exclaimed, shocked and annoyed that someone had the gall to call Aura 'mysterious'.

"Well, when you think about it, Aura really is mysterious," Jaune pointed out, trying to defend the movie.

"Really? How so?" the heiress asked in the coldest, flattest tone she could muster. Going by the boy's wince, it worked pretty well. "So?"

"W-Well, we can't measure it precisely…"

"We have a measure unit for that, called Oum, whose role is _exactly_ to measure how much Aura can an entity store within itself," Weiss easily rebuffed, knowing all too well that she had more or less twice the grade he had in Dust Studies.

"We can't def-"

"Aura is the manifestation of the soul, an energy that empowers and protects us from harm, and gives us supernatural insight and sixth sense, as well as a magic-like ability known as Semblance, unique to every individual with a few exceptions," Weiss rattled off the short version, not even bothering to go all out and reciting by memory the twenty-eight pages of Aura definition of their textbook.

"W-Well, we don't know why it does that…"

"I fail to see your point in this. Our body protects our soul, so why shouldn't our soul protect our body?" Weiss replied coldly. "Our brain works by sending tiny amounts of electricity through our system, yet why it chooses to do that is unknown – maybe efficiency. The same can be said for aura. Nature's law rewards the most adaptable, so humanity must've adapted to being as efficient as possible, including Aura."

His argument thoroughly crushed, Jaune slumped without a word.

Weiss allowed herself a small smile before being met with the disappointed glares of just about everyone in the room. Only Raven didn't seem to mind it. "What?"

"You could've gone a little easier on him, you know?" Yang berated her.

"I was just correcting a false perception of his."

"No, you were being all high and mighty, or high and know-it-all, and you were rubbing it in his face that you know more than he does." Yang seemed to think about it for a second. "Oh, and you were also a bitch about it."

"Hey!"

"Sorry Weiss but I agree with Yang," Ruby interjected, torn between supporting her partner because she was her partner and friend, and agreeing with the voice of reason. "I mean, I get Jaune's been annoying you but-"

"He's harassing me!"

"Asking you out four times in _a month_ doesn't seem like _harassing_ to me, or the teachers would've done something after you tried to get a restraining order on him," Blake noted with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't-"

"Different wording, same meaning."

"Students, please, you can solve this later," Goodwitch interrupted them, stern but not overly so. They all nodded and turned back to the projection.

**However what no one on Remnant realize other than a select few, that there are things out there that are worse than the Grimm.**

"Yeah, criminals." Amber commented, glaring at the screen. _'And Salem,'_ she added in her mind.

"Why would you say that?" Ruby asked, shocked to hear such a response.

"I mean, Grimm might be a worse problem, but I think I hate criminals more. Grimm are mindless, they don't really have a choice in what they do. They're like robots pre-programmed to kill and destroy. Criminals, on the other hand, aren't." Amber could clearly remember three particular criminals she really hated at the moment. "They can choose and they choose to gain at other people's expenses, not caring about the damage they do. They are worse because where the Grimm have no morals to begin with, criminals throw those aside and in a time when humanity should be united, they only think about themselves."

Raven scoffed at the young woman's 'naive' words. "If humanity could actually be united, you'd be right. But there is no point in sticking to your morals when all they do is getting you killed or abused. Criminals are just people who realized this and went against it. The strong lives, the weak dies. This is Nature's Law, and the only law that really matters. Because in the end civilization is doomed to fail since the start."

"Civilization wouldn't be failing, if not for people like you, who destroy everything they touch," Qrow growled at his 'sister' (he honestly felt like spitting at that appellative). She might've had a point saying not everyone was ready to cooperate, but she first of all pillage, stole and killed for her own gain – and far more than she strictly needed. Her tribe of bandit attacked out of bloodlust, not out of need, or they wouldn't see any reason in razing a village to the ground, or leaving it to die at the claws of the Grimm – which had happened way more than once. Raven was turning out to be just as much of a murderer as their adopted parents.

Raven wasn't disturbed by his scathing response. _'Weaklings will do everything they can to hold onto the belief that if they stay together, they'll be strong, but the harsh truth is – you take everything from everyone by force, or someone will take everything from you, sooner or later. It's kill or be killed, and they think that remaining prey will let them live longer. Fools.'_

Yang was disgusted. She already knew her mother couldn't really have been a good person, or at least hadn't turned out to be, but she'd been expecting more. That woman hadn't even acknowledged her presence, as if she didn't exist.

She'd obey Ozpin and she'd talk with her _after_ the projector shut off, but deep down she wondered if there was anything to be said, really. If it was better to just ignore her and cut her out of her life as Raven had done with her.

Raven probably wouldn't have cared either way.

**And not all of them are from Remnant.**

**High above the world of Remnant drifting around it in orbit was Remnants fractured moon.**

**while many have wondered why the moon was broken, it still remained a mystery as to why it was broken at all.**

Everyone shrugged. It'd been there for as long as they could remember. Ozpin had been told by Salem, but he too hadn't been around at the time, so his information was second-hand and while reliable, still not certain proof.

They were all used to seeing it broken, they didn't even question it. They couldn't imagine a Remnant with a whole moon.

**However as the shattered moon orbited around the world of Remnant, something had suddenly appeared over the shattered moon. With a flash and an echoing sound a vortex suddenly ripped open in reality above the shattered moon. And shooting out it was a glowing read sphere that flew out of the vortex and shot straight down to Remnant.**

**As the red sphere flew down into Remnants atmosphere it landed Deep within a forest in one of the four major kingdoms of Remnant, Atlas. as it touched down with the snow it remained motionless for a brief moment before it began to dissipate and vanish until in its place, was a young man.**

"Damn he's not naked."

"YANG!/MS XIAO LONG!" everyone exclaimed, except for Sun, Amber and Winter, who didn't know her name and just looked weirded out and scandalized, respectively, and Raven, who was doing a good job at pretending to be a statue while inwardly ashamed of her daughter.

"Sorry! Jeez, I was just joking, no need to take it so seriously."

**He appeared be twenty two of age and had a lean and muscular build. he had black hair and brown eyes and he wore a blue open shirt with a white one underneath as well as blue jeans. And to top his appearance off he also appeared to have some kind of badge on his left upper arm that resembled a gold and silver shooting star.**

"Wait a second, he looks like Prof Higa_bold_!" Yang pointed out, earning groans from the students and confused expressions from the teachers, who quite clearly remembered not having one such colleague.

"She means Professor Higashi, it's just another one of her puns based on the second half of his name," Ren explained wearily. He might've had the patience of a saint, but he too was exasperated by Yang's puns.

Ozpin frowned. Professor Higashi, while an excellent teacher, was quite _not_ an Ultraman. Perhaps it was a coincidence. Almost all Schnee women looked the same, Ruby and Summer were almost identical, and many more people shared similar traits. It was just a coincidence.

**This was Taro's Human disguise, Kotaro Higashi.**

"Hey, what are the odds? It's so weird!" Nora laughed. And rightfully so, since their professor was indeed called Kotaro Higashi.

However, despite all his skill at teaching, the man didn't show any supernatural ability. That, and they were talking about different universes.

Ozpin, instead, was _very very_ worried. Had he accidentally hired a supernatural, extraterrestrial entity as school staff without even realizing it?!

**'Well I've successfully arrived on Remnant. I just hope I manage to find a nearby town soon," he thought to himself.**

**Now Originally the Ultra in Disguise had planned on landing somewhere near a more populated area, but had quickly changed plans when he realized his travel sphere would possibly not go unnoticed by the locals. So instead he decided to land somewhere else and make his way towards a village or a city and then blend in with Remnants people in the better hopes to keep his real identity a secret.**

**All of Remnant depended on his help in order to survive the evil that King had warned him about, but he knew they would possibly not be very welcoming to him if they knew what he really was. so it would be in his best interest to keep his origins a secret for now.**

"Really? He is going to save the world all by himself?" Weiss's voice was dripping condescension. "That's-"

"Amazing!" Ruby exclaimed, starry-eyed.

"Great!" Jaune added as well.

"Awesome!" Nora joined in.

Weiss fumed silently. _'Stupid. I was gonna say stupid.'_

**'Still. Probably should've picked a warmer place to arrive at,' he thought as he looked around at the snow covered woods. so far he didn't sense anything around so he ruled out any settlements nearby for now. 'Well I'm not gonna get anywhere freezing out here in the woods so i might as well get moving'.**

**Not willing to get frostbite Kotaro was already on the move and heading South, hoping to find a settlement soon on his travels and learn more about the world of Remnant while he was at it.**

* * *

**It had been roughly two hours since he started walking. And unfortunately Kotaro had seen no signs of any settlements during those two hours. Regardless though he went onward through the frozen tundra that were these woods undaunted.**

"He's got stubbornness down pat, but isn't it a little… foolish… to just wander without any knowledge of where he's going, aside from 'South'?" Blake wondered out loud, stopping herself from saying 'stupid' or 'pointless' lest she angered the fans in the room.

"Well, he doesn't know where he is, so it's not like it'll make much of a difference," Pyrrha shrugged lightly.

"True."

**Still, the lack of anything remotely related to even a little village bothered the Ultra. Surely there would have to be at least one settlement or something out here. And yet he couldn't pick up anything with his senses anywhere out here leaving Kotaro to keep moving onward through the Snowy landscape.**

**'Still, This is rather concerning' he thought, 'at the rate things are going I'll Have to find shelter soon. otherwise I'll end up freezing before i can accomplish anything to save this world'.**

"So much for the invincible hero," Raven snorted in derision. "Dying of hypothermia within four hours of arriving on Remnant."

"He's not dead yet," Jaune replied flatly, knowing all too well that if this really was in any way similar to one of the comics he read or anime he watched, then something would soon go Taro's way.

**Sighing, Kotaro stopped for a brief moment to use his powers scan the area again. He closed his eyes and his body seemed to shine for a brief moment as his psychic abilities stretched out, searching for any form of life in the area.**

**And after for a moment of silence... he got something!**

"Case and point," Jaune grinned smugly.

"As much as I hope Mr Higashi survives this, it's still unlikely for someone unused to Atlas to live through its frozen tundras," Winter replied, shaking her head.

"I guess we can only watch on and find out," Ironwood added as well.

**His eyes shot open as he finally felt the first sign of life since he came on this planet. it was only a single person from what he could tell and it was faint, but it was without a doubt the first sign of life he's found since Arriving on Remnant and it was defiantly very close!**

**Quickly zeroing in on it he felt the life sign was due west, and with impossible speed he dashed off in that direction.**

**Like a blur in motion he ran through the trees and snow and in no time flat he came to a sudden halt when he finally arrived at where the life sign was.**

**However what he saw next made him stop in his tracks.**

**For there, laying in the snow and letting out smoke was the wreckage of a destroyed ship.**

As much as they were still minors, no student even winced at the sight of the airship. True, they felt a bit sad for whoever had been in there, but eventually living in the world of Remnant had de-sensitised them to those sights. Unlike the people who lived in the city and never left it, Hunter trainees and those living outside of the capitals were aware of Remnant's dark side.

**It was large and looked like it could easily hold more than an entire battalion's worth of people among other things and it mostly resembled some kind of battleship of sorts. But at this point it was hard to tell what kind of ship it was considering the entire vessel looked like it was savagely ripped apart by some kind of monster and had what was left of it tossed aside to rot in the cold.**

_'Great, now our great protector doesn't even know what he's supposed to fight against,'_ Weiss huffed. She kept her thoughts to herself for once, for two reasons. One, because she knew the others were starting to get annoyed at her for that. And two, because she didn't want to agree out loud with the black-haired, red-eyed woman who had been so rude to everyone and acted all high-and-mighty to a level she'd never seen anyone reach.

Raven was really leaving an impression on the whole group…

**'What happened here?' Kotaro thought as he stared at the wreck with a serious look. From what he could tell whatever occurred here happened very recently, and he could only wonder what could've caused this kind of damage.**

**However that wasn't what was concerning him right now. He was also still picking up that faint life sign he felt earlier within the wreckage, which meant that despite it all someone was still very much alive within the wreckage. And whoever they are definitely needed help.**

**And so without further delay Kotaro made his way down to investigate in the hopes of Finding the lone survivor of the destroyed vessel. and hopefully find out what happened here too.**

"I guess someone must've hidden somewhere and the Grimm didn't find them," Jaune smiled, a bit relieved. Then he frowned slightly. Usually, if something like that were to happen in a comic or an anime, depending on the type, that survivor could be one of three things.

One, the main character's love interest. Two, the main character's soon-to-be best friend. Three, just some guy who was there to give information, and then die.

He had to admit he was kinda rooting for the second. While he appreciated a good romance, Taro just didn't seem like the type to get romantically involved with the first person he stumbled across.

* * *

**The inside was just as bad, if not worse, than the outside of the ship. everything was a complete mess, machinery was ripped apart and the interior hull as torn and sparking.**

**But what was truly horrible were the bodies. Everywhere he went he would come across one of the crew members or at the very least what remained of them.**

This time the students did wince. A destroyed wreckage they could handle just fine, mangled corpses were a bit harder to look at. They had all seen uncensored disaster footages at one point in their lives, especially during Dr Oobleck's class, but it wasn't a sight anyone enjoyed.

Among the adults, Raven was the only completely unimpressed. As a murderer herself, she'd long since grown used to the sight of bodies. The other adults didn't show their horror as much as the students, but all of them felt their hearts constrict at the sight.

Grimm never left clean kills after all.

**Kotaro could only look at them with sorrow, sorrow for all the lives that were lost here. But despite it all he pressed onward continuing his search.**

**"But what happened here?" he couldn't help but thought.**

**As he continued to ponder the mystery of how this ship ended up so damaged and its crew lost their lives, he came across what appeared to be the captain's deck. And even here he saw what remained of the crew and its captain. All of them dead, even the captain himself.**

**he resembled an elderly man dressed in a grey and white captain's suit that was decorated in some medals, and he had grey hair and a thick short beard.**

"He appears familiar," Penny said out loud, trying to remember where she'd seen the man.

"Captain Ernesto de la Mafias," Winter nodded, recognizing the man. "He has a bit of a gambling problem, but he is otherwise a good soldier."

"Well, looks like he ain't gonna gamble any more," Qrow commented with a slight wince. At least the man's corpse was still recognizable.

"Actually, he is alive and well. I have seen him not two hours ago, and he is not scheduled to fly any airship for the next week at the very least," Ironwood rebutted, happy to be able to correct the drunkard, who always knew way more than he looked.

"Huh. Good for him."

Ozpin frowned. A man who actually existed in their world. Maybe it really was an alternative universe… he wondered why they'd been flying over the Atlas tundras with no reason like that.

**What really got Kotaro's attention and concern however was the three claw marks raked across his chest.**

**Now understandings that whatever had done this was clearly some kind of monster**

**Fortunately as he looked around, he came across what appeared to be some kind of communications system of some kind and it also looked like it was mostly be intact and functional.**

**Making sure the power was still on in the Ship he quickly skimmed through the data info consisting of Captain's logs until he found the most recent entry and pressed play.**

_**"This is Captain Mafias calling Atlas command! come in do you copy?!"**_

_**"Please! come in Atlas command!"**_

_**"We are under attack! I repeat we are under attack!"**_

_**"Grimm horde suddenly came out of nowhere and attacked our ship!"**_

_**"There's too many of them! Requesting immediate backup!**_

_**"Send backup! i repeat send backup immediately or-"**_

_***BOOM!* *Krrtsh!***_

People winced heavily. It was never fun to watch or hear people die. Those poor soldiers must've been terrified, and no one had been there to save them.

Ozpin, meanwhile, was still thinking. A Grimm horde suddenly coming out of nowhere. Grimm were known for being able to sense presences even without seeing them. Had they been on the run from Taro's energy sphere and had encountered the airship? Hordes never attacked for no reason, never. Packs, yes, but hordes just didn't have enough intelligence to stick together. Grimm could coexist, but not work together. Even packs of Beowolves split up when they became too big.

But if Grimm had been moving out of Taro's arrival area, then they might've ended up on the path of the airship – Grimm were notoriously faster than a man's normal walk. The soldiers had reacted by firing at them and panicking, which had in turn led to the Grimm attacking en masse.

It was possible that Taro had, inadvertently, caused that disaster.

**The transmission ended with a sudden explosion before cutting out, and now Kotaro finally learned how everything came to be with this ship and its crew. What really concerned him though were these "Grimm" that were mentioned in the transmission, what could these creatures be and why did they suddenly attacked this ship?**

"It's really weird thinking of not knowing what the Grimm are," Ruby commented, admittedly a little confused. After all, Grimm were their world's greatest problem. Not knowing of them was like not knowing what fire was.

"Well, he is from a different planet," Amber spoke up. Ruby jumped slightly at being replied to by a girl she'd never seen nor talked to before. "It would make sense. If someone from Remnant were to go to _his_ planet, they would probably look like fools, not knowing even the basics of life."

She had a point, they all knew that. Didn't make it any less weird to see.

**Regardless He could only look down at the still form of the dead captain and give his respects to the deceased man and his crew mates.**

**"I'm sorry, perhaps if i was here earlier i could've helped you" he said with a somber tone.**

"I doubt it, he wasn't sensing anything for hours, and a Grimm attack usually takes a while," Qrow commented, shaking his head. "There wasn't anything he could've done. Most of those corpses were mauled – chances are they wouldn't have made it even with medical care.

"Had he arrived hours earlier, perhaps he could've still done something – he never specified how much earlier he meant," Winter retorted, all too happy to be correcting the man.

"Still doubt it. Maybe he can kill any Grimm he fights, but can he kill all the Grimm in a horde before they can kill a handful of people? Sure, he might've come out of it unscathed, but those guys would still have died."

"Unless he's powerful enough to wipe out a Grimm horde in little time," the Specialist reminded him. "Just because you wouldn't be able to, doesn't mean everyone else is the same."

**However his mood soon shifted to a more determined one as he remembered why he came to this ship to begin with.**

**"But i can still save one of you". And like that he was off, moving through the destroyed corridors and hallways of the ship he began to move deeper and deeper Into the wreckage of the now known Atlas ship, using his Ultra powers to sense the only survivor of the ship, until at last he came to where the person, whom ever they were, was.**

**Whoever They were, they appeared to be behind a large reinforced metal door leading to some kind of bunker room of sorts, that was possibly why they were even alive to begin with, the secured room they were in sheltered them from both the crash and the "Grimm" who attacked the crew.**

**Wasting no time Kotaro walked up to the door, lifted up his foot and-**

"There's no way he's gonna be able to just kick that door in," Weiss huffed, rolling her eyes. "It's an Atlasian reinforced military door, it can withstand the charge of a Megoliath without problems and it's made out of some of the-"

**BAM! CRASH!**

Weiss's mouth fell open while Ruby, Nora and Jaune cheered.

"I guess that Atlasian reinforced military door isn't all that indestructible," Blake snickered with a small grin, all too pleased to see the look on the heiress's face. While she considered Weiss to be okay in her books, the rest of Atlas was a different story altogether.

"Or maybe he's just _that_ strong," Nora replied with sparkles in her eyes, thinking of how much destruction they could cause together. "After all, Ultraman fight monsters with the power to destroy entire planets, don't they? And he was trained by the most powerful Ultraman of them all, the Ultraemperor or something."

"Ultraman King," Ren corrected her, though he kind of agreed with her – Taro had to be very strong indeed.

**-Kicked the door clean off and made a sizable dent in it, which was impressive considering it was 5 feet of solid reinforced metal.**

"That shouldn't be possible!" Winter exclaimed, completely shocked by that turn of events.

Qrow glanced at Ironwood, who shrugged, trying not to look too miserable. He appreciated how much the eldest Schnee daughter was invested in her job, but there was such thing as too much. Believing the Atlas military to be the organization with all the answers and all the power in the world was too much. Winter might not have thought exactly that, but she indeed considered the Atlasian military far superior to most organizations or entities in Remnant.

While honestly, that couldn't be farther away from the truth.

Glynda alone could probably wipe the floor with most of his Specialists, and he himself. Damn that broken Semblance of hers.

Not too far away, Goodwitch felt the familiar urge to kill somebody. And as usual, she suppressed it before one of her students could pay the price.

**As he made his way in he noticed the room didn't seem to have much in it and looked Rather plain but undamaged compared to the rest of the ship.**

**Also it seemed that the room was slightly frozen as thin layers of frost could be seen across the walls.**

**However what was the real eye catcher was what was in the middle of the room.**

**There was a pod of some kind in the center of the room with some kind of terminal on the side.**

**Curious, he made his way over to the pod and wiped Off some frost that was on the glass. And as he looked inside, he finally met the lone survivor of the now ruined ship, and it was…**

"What? What is it? A strange alien from outer space captured by Atlas and secretly transported back to the headquarters of a secret organization who secretly rules the Kingdom from the shadows?" Nora fired off questions at a rapid pace, causing Ren to discreetly roll his eyes in fondness. "Or maybe it's a person from millennia ago who was encased in ice and remained alive for ages and has now been found and the Atlas military wants to examine them so they can learn more about history and then sell them to a museum for thousands upon thousands of Lien?!"

Ironwood face-palmed. Both hypothesises were absurd. As much as he didn't like the Council of Atlas, they wouldn't do something like that (except for Jacques Schnee, but thank the Brother Gods he wasn't in the Council yet). And if he had to be honest, in Atlas they were more likely to shoot first and ask question later if they were to encounter an alien, just in case it was a new Grimm of some kind.

"Let's watch and see, okay?" Pyrrha smiled kindly, but inwardly she was ever so slightly curious as well.

Jaune and Ruby, meanwhile, were frowning. That was unexpected. Usually people inside hibernation pods didn't give out any kind of vital signs. Also, in comics hibernation pods were usually better left well enough alone. No one really knew what they could contain in their cold insides.

**"A Girl?"**

**Indeed it was a girl. She was young and looked to be roughly 17 or 18 age, she had short, rather curly orange hair with a small ahoge on top that comes down to her chin, and she wears a pink bow on the back of her head. She also has light skin and freckles. She wears a whitish-gray old-fashioned blouse with short gray feminine overalls as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings.**

**There was also green lines on the side of her stockings. And She has what appeared to be wearing some kind of small and thin backpack.**

"Penny?" everyone spoke out loud.

For those who knew of Penny's secret, they were surprised to see her there, but not too much as of why she was in a pod. For those who didn't, they were surprised as to why she was inside an Atlasian warship.

Raven, Amber and Sun frowned. "Who?"

"Salutations, I am Penny Polendina, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny cheerfully introduced herself to Amber and Sun. When she tried to do the same with Raven, she hiccuped, but otherwise did fine – unfortunately, the dark emo woman refused to even shake her hand.

"Penny, what are you doing there?" Yang asked, a bit suspicious. What was Ruby's friend doing in a military airship?

"I am not sure. I have no memories of this event," Penny replied truthfully, before she thought. _'It must've happened while I was still inactive. Perhaps Atlas's database contains the name of who was in charge of transporting me before my activation.'_ She tried to connect herself to the network, but there was no signal. Unfortunately. _'Maybe it's Friend Khor's doing. I shall ask him once he comes back.'_

"Let's not forget this is an alternative universe, students, it is quite possible that some things will simply not be explained," Ozpin placated them, before shooting Ironwood a look that demanded explanations.

"After the projection," the General mouthed him silently, earning a nod from the Headmaster.

**She appeared to be in some kind of deep sleep, possibly hinting that the pod she was in was possibly some form of stasis pod of some kind.**

**'Still, why is she here to begin with?' he thought, as he couldn't understand why she was in here or even on this ship to begin with.**

**But he quickly shook his head and put his questions aside for now, 'it doesn't matter now. All that matters is that i get her out of here'. he thought**

**Kotaro then made his way the terminal on the other side of the pod and began to look it over. And after figuring out how the machine works and which button was which he pressed a few buttons and the pod opened up with an audible hissing sound.**

**But before he could go and pick up the girl inside, something popped out of the top of the terminal. Curious About what it was Kotaro picked it up. It was small, and appeared to be some kind of handheld device.**

**Deciding to examine it later Kotaro placed it in his pocket and picked the young ginger haired girl up out of the pod carrying her bridal style. And sure enough he was on the move again with the young girl in his arms, quickly making his way through the corridors and hallways as he backtracked. Until finally he made his way outside of the destroyed Atlas ship and into the snowy field once more.**

"I have no memories of this either," Penny noted. "I am sure I have never seen Mr Taro before. Or should I call him Mr Higashi?"

"You can call him either way, Penny," Winter replied absent-mindedly.

**As he reached the edge of the woods however he looked back and bowed his head respectfully to those who had died here.**

**"May you find peace." he said**

**And after giving his respects, Kotaro went onward into the woods once more with the young girl in his arms in tow.**

* * *

**Several Hours Later**

"It's incredible, like in the comics and anime there are also the timeskips and mini-titles to inform where and when the next segment will take pl-" Jaune was promptly shut up by Weiss conjuring an ice crystal and throwing it at his head. "Ow! Weiss, why?"

"You were being annoying," she replied. _'As always,'_she added in her mind. "And you were giving us information we already knew."

_'I didn't know that,' _most of the adults thought.

* * *

**Hours passed since Kotaro found the young girl and sure enough the coming of night came upon them both. And unfortunately a snow storm as well.**

**Luckily for the both of them our Hero managed to find a cave nearby and made his way inside it.**

"He could've just punched into existence," Yang pointed out. He seemed more than strong enough for that.

"Maybe he didn't want to make too much noise," Blake replied. After all, she had experience being quiet while setting up camp with the White Fang.

**And now we find the disguised Ultra and the still unconscious girl currently resting in the cave around a fire that Kotaro made to help keep the both of them warm while the snowstorm raged outisde.**

**Kotaro himself was currently examining the small device from the ship, which he had learned was called a scroll due to the company brand on it. Also he made sure to look back to his sleeping companion every so often as he fiddled around with the scroll.**

**Throughout the entire time he's been carrying her she hasn't made a single sign of waking up and he was starting to wonder if she was under some kind of heavy sedation of some kind. Though again, he questioned why that would even be the case to begin with.**

**He pushed those thoughts aside For now and averted his attention back to the small device in his hands as he finally managed to get it to work as a screen popped out of it and lit up. and a file appeared on the screen, it read...**

**"Project P.E.N.N.Y.?"**

Everyone exchanged looks while Penny began to excrete a water-based by-product of her cooling system, which was meant to replicate sweat.

Ironwood winced and braced himself.

**Now more Curious than ever, Kotaro tapped the file causing it to open and reveal a plethora of data and information.**

**Scrolling through it all Kotaro kept wondering what exactly he found here until he came across something that truly caught his eye. It was a blueprint for the project, but it was what the image on the blueprints themselves that truly shocked him.**

**The image of a young girl.**

**The very same girl he had rescued from the destroyed ship!**

"I'm lost, can someone explain that to me?" Jaune spoke up, looking as confused as he sounded.

Unfortunately, those who knew didn't want to share their knowledge, while those who didn't where in the same boat as him.

**He quickly looked back to the young girl and couldn't helped but feel rather surprised by this recent development**

**"She's an android?" he muttered, "But if that's the case then why did they create her to begin with? and more importantly why do i feel life coming from her?"**

Penny perked up at that. She'd forgotten that tidbit. Taro had felt life coming from her even before she'd been activated, but that should've been impossible. What did that mean?

Unbeknownst to her, Ironwood and Ruby were thinking the same, as well as Winter. While they all considered the girl a 'real person', they couldn't help but think. Inactive, without her Aura, Penny was just a mass of wires and metal plates. Aura was what made her 'normal'. But if so, then why did Taro feel anything coming from her?

**Figuring he find more answers from the info in his hands He kept scrolling through the device until he finally found something that caught his eye.**

**"Journal Entry of James Ironwood, Atlas military General and Academy Headmaster. Well then Mister Ironwood, let's just see what you know" and with that, a pre recorded message bagan to play and a man that had to be the General appeared on it.**

**Ironwood is shown to be well dressed and clean, much like What you would expect of a man of his status. He wears a white overcoat, with a gray undercoat, black sweater, a red necktie and a white glove on his right hand. His suit pants share the same color as his overcoat and are tucked into silver boots accented in gray.**

**His hair is black, with some silver and gray areas, while his eyebrows are solid black. He has a strip of silver metal above his right eyebrow, though why it was there the Ultra was only left to imagine.**

**After a brief moment, Ironwood began speaking.**

**["**_**Journal entry of the development for project P.E.N.N.Y. by General Iroonwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy and leader of the Atlas Military. I am writing this in correspondence to the development of the project that is under the supervision of both myself and Dr. Polendina"**_**]**

**[**_**"We had been developing project for quite some time now. The end goal is simple, Dr. Polendina had theorized a way to synthetically create an artificial aura and with these theories he believed that we could develop a new spearhead of Atlas technology by creating machines that could feel and live. Intrigued i approved the project and assisted Dr. Polendina however i could."**_**]**

"What?! A sentient android given Aura?!" Weiss exclaimed. "That's impossible!"

"Admittedly, that is hard to believe," Pyrrha nodded, trying not to sound offensive. "Aura comes from the soul, and the soul is something no one can physically interact with. Creating one artificially should be impossible."

Penny frowned. All her data said the same – it should've been impossible. However, maybe in that universe something was different. Or maybe it would explain itself over time.

**["His **_**research eventually lead to the Development of the very first synthetic android capable of generating aura, and from what he explained to me the android would indeed be a living being in every sense of the word."**_**]**

**[**_**"And under the request of Dr. Polendina, we had named her Penny."**_**]**

As if remembering they were talking about said girl, everyone turned to her.

"Ms Polendina probably has no memory of this," Ironwood cut in before anyone could interrogate the poor girl. "After this projection shuts off, I will personally explain whatever needs to be explained." Of course he didn't plan on telling them everything, as that was a military secret and a high-level one at that, but he knew that it was better to sate their curiosity, rather than leave Penny to fend off for herself.

Also, sooner or later she would let something slip, and that could cause even more damage. Better to tell them in a controlled manner, than to just try to ignore the problem.

**[**_**"However this is non disclosable but the synthetic part of her creation is actually a cover up. As while i won't go into full detail, Dr. Polendina explained to me that he in actually had removed a large portion of his own Aura to give Penny her Aura. So in a way she truly does have a soul."**_**]**

Penny smiled. Her father was just too good. And that also made her feel a lot more relieved, since it meant she actually had a soul even before being activated. Then she frowned. If she had a soul, then why wasn't she active already?

**[**_**"Regardless however Penny was well on her way to completion and the project would be finished. She would be a perfect testament to any and all scientific breakthroughs and would be a one of a kind Wonder, i honestly felt rather happy for my old friends accomplishment.**_**]**

**[**_**However the Atlas council caught wind of the project and decided to input their own ideas."**_**]**

**[****_When they Discovered what we were making they immediately ordered me to have Dr. Polendina to reconstruct Penny into a combat android fit for military forces. I heavily objected the very notion of the idea, but unfortunately my objections fell on death ears and we had no choice but to turn Penny into a combat android that would blend in with the populace and destroy any Grimm incursions that arise."_****]**

"The intentions behind such a change are good – the actual change was wrong," Ozpin affirmed, frowning slightly. "While I before anyone else can understand wanting to defend the people, creating a being whose only purpose in life is to be a tool for fighting the Grimm…"

"Luckily that's not what they meant," Ironwood spoke up, shaking his head. "They did wish for Penny to live her life. However, they could not allow such an opportunity to slip by. What they changed is that we had to add combat skills to her skillset. She is a hundred percent expert in every field we could think of. In every word, she is a superhuman being who would make humanity look obsolete. I did not wish for it to be so because Semblance-based eugenics are already hard enough to stop, without adding in man-made superhumans. Penny was supposed to be just a normal girl. In fact, in the first phases of the project, she was meant to be created as a baby so that she could learn naturally."

The man sighed and sadly shook his head. "However, the Council said it was a terrible idea to waste such an opportunity. They praised Dr Polendina for his good heart, but they insisted that more normal people was not what the world needed. They insisted for us to change the project into a combat android made to fight Grimm and humans alike." He didn't add that the Council had also thought of keeping it a secret from everyone else, so that if push came to shove and another war broke out, Atlas would have an army of superhumans to _obliterate_ everything and everyone. A 'just in case' triumph card. Their secret ace-up-the-sleeve they would only use in extreme cases.

Ironwood suddenly smiled. "However, that does not mean we couldn't find some ways to let her be a normal girl." Penny frowned in confusion. "Such as _accidentally_ losing sight of her for a few hours."

Penny blinked, shocked. Ironwood had actually given the order to let her go explore on her own? She smiled at him, and he gave her a nod.

However, everyone else still wasn't really happy about it.

_**What.**_

**That particular bit of information is what got a real reaction from Kotaro, as the more he listened to what Ironwood was saying, The more and more his face developed into a utterly furious expression.**

**[**_**"As of Yesterday her reconstruction is complete."**_**]**

**[**_**"As well as the development of her weapon which we've dubbed "Floating Array". It is a very versatile and effective tool capable of both long and close range combat, among other useful features that could assist her at anytime"**_**]**

**[**_**"we estimate that ounce activated she will be on par with a fully trained Huntsman. Add that to her aura and naturally strong body the Atlas Council have high hopes that she will be an invaluable asset in the war ahead.**_**]**

"War ahead?"

"Grimm incursions, Ms Rose," Ironwood quickly replied.

**[**_**"And Now that she's finished all that's left to do is activate her by awakening her aura"**_**]**

**[**_**"We had originally planned on activating her at the location where we constructed her but i was against that and we made plans to move her to Atlas for her activation for security reasons more than anything else."**_**]**

**[**_**"I commissioned a Atlas ship commanded by Captain Mafias to transport her to Atlas. Once he's arrived with her we'll activate her, and the council believes that with her abilities and the research we'll get from her experiences in the field they would somehow learn to construct more like her to fight the Grimm."**_**]**

"Quick question, did this 'Mafias' escort her in this world too?" Jaune asked, still trying to wrap his head around the whole 'android' thing. Or was it gynoid?

"Yes, he did, but there were no issues with the flight and she safely arrived in Atlas," Ironwood nodded, unknowingly strengthening Ozpin's theory about their world also having a Taro hiding somewhere… in Beacon.

**[**_**"I had never wanted it to come to this, but unfortunately it would appear i never really Had a say in the matter... oh Penny. I am so sorry...**_**]**

**[...**_**This has been General Ironwood. signing off."**_**]**

Penny frowned. It wasn't his fault, he shouldn't have been the one apologizing.

**And with that the screen went dark as the journal entry video ended, and Kotaro placed the scroll back in his pocket and began to think of what he just learned.**

**Everything made sense now. But if he were to be completely honest he wasn't happy about what he learned one bit. Everything just didn't sit well with him, mainly about Penny herself.**

**Don't get him wrong, he wasn't bothered by the robot girl one bit. His anger was actually more focused on what this Atlas Council had planned for her. He could understand wanting to create something that would save lives but it was How these Atlas people went about it that truly made his blood boil.**

**"They only want her to be a Tool for war" he muttered angrily, the sheer thought greatly upset him and for good reason.**

**For Ultras all life was precious, this very understanding and concept is what gave birth to the space garrison to begin with.**

"They understand Life? Or do they just value it?" Pyrrha wondered, knowing those two were very different.

"Probably the second, but you never know," Amber replied idly.

**It was also because how even Ultras could be revived from the dead if they should ever fall, they couldn't always be brought back, which made them value life even more.**

**King Himself was so powerful he could bring the dead back to life just with his sheer energy alone. But he also taught Him that life is a very precious thing that should not be taken for granted, and it was a lesson that he and every other Ultra took to heart with.**

**So the mere thought of this Girl that was with him, who had a life of her very own, was created with the gift of having a soul despite being a machine was just going to be used as a weapon didn't sit right with him at all.**

"But isn't he a machine for world salvation or something like that?" Weiss spoke up, slightly irritated. "Isn't his entire race there just to 'save the universe' or something? Isn't that a bit hypocritical?"

"Well no, they have a choice whether to do that or not, Penny didn't," Ren replied calmly. Nothing fazed that guy.

**'Ironwood and Polendina were against the very idea of doing this to her, but they were unfortunately tasked to teach her how to be a weapon when they would activate her. Or a doomsday device even.' he thought bitterly before a determination burned in his eyes 'but like hell if i'm going to let that happen now!"**

**And With these thoughts in mind, Kotaro made his decision on what his next move would be.**

**Getting up, he made his way over to Penny and kneeled down next to her, 'if i remember correctly, they said the only way to activate her was to awaken Aura. seems simple enough.' he thought as he place his hands on her, closed his eyes, and began to concentrate.**

**His plan was simple, if all it took was for her soul to awaken then all he needed to do was focus some of his own energy into her and awaken her dormant spirit.**

**See? Simple.**

Weiss groaned in exasperation at how 'dumb' she thought Taro was. "Seriously? He doesn't even have Aura, doesn't even know what Aura is, and he thinks he can awaken her Aura just like that? Please."

"I bet half a million Lien that he can do it," Jaune countered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm _sure_ he can."

"You know what, I'll take that bet," Weiss replied. Normally she wouldn't willingly send a friend (or whatever Jaune was) into bankruptcy, but she figured that she could use that debt as a way to make Jaune stop his flirting with her.

Everyone else groaned. Whoever lost that bet would be _so_ sorry.

**Nothing seemed to happen at first, until Kotaro began to glow and a soft yet powerful light formed around him. And that light triggered a similar reaction from Penny as well.**

**The robot girl's still form began to glow a neon green light, as the Ultra used his own energy to help awaken Penny's own Aura. this continued for about several more moments before Kotaro finally stopped pumping his own energy into her when he felt her soul begin to flare up.**

**when he was finished he stood up and took a few steps back and waited for Penny to awaken for the first time in her life.**

**And after a few brief moments, Penny's eyes opened for the first time.**

Weiss's mouth fell open, and her eyes widened in horror. She had just lost half a million Lien. Which was more than what she actually had – her father's money didn't count.

Jaune grinned evilly. He was gonna have _so_ much fun teasing Weiss about how comics and anime landed him half a million Lien. Or not, since like Weiss he too didn't want to rob his friend of all that money.

However, he wouldn't tell her that, not yet. He wanted to enjoy victory for a little while longer.

"And that's what happens when you make bets, Weiss," Winter spoke up sternly. If someone asked her, Weiss fully deserved to lose that money. Bets were for fools, especially those with such high stakes.

Everyone else was just too gobsmacked that Jaune had actually won so much money because of his knowledge of comics and anime.

**The robot girl began to get up somewhat robotically as she sat straight. And then closed her eyes and stretched as she gave a soft yawn, as if she had awoken from a long nap.**

**When she was finished she looked around, looking confused by her surroundings, before her eyes eventually landed on Kotaro and at the sight of him she smiled.**

**"Oh, Salutations mister. I hope you don't mind but could you please tell me where i am?" she asked in a sweet tone of voice, and had the most innocent look in her green eyes.**

"Aww, she's so precious! Cute Little Girl Penny!" Nora cooed, immediately nicknaming the poor girl, much to everyone's chagrin but hers.

"Cute Little Girl Penny…?" Penny thought about it a little before smiling her usual megawatt smile. "I love it! If you've given me a nickname, does that mean we're friends now?"

"Of course, silly!" Nora giggled. "We're basically best friends!"

"Sensational! I've never had a best friend before!"

Ruby chose that moment to speak up. "Hey, what about me?"

"Don't worry Ruby, you're her best friend as well!" exclaimed Nora. "She can have two best friends!"

"Actually…" Weiss trailed off at the looks from both Ruby and Nora. "Nevermind, of course she can."

**Kotaro just smiled, happy that he managed to awaken her. before he straightened out as spoked to her, "Oh uh, yes i'll tell you in a little bit, but first let me asked you something. Do you know who you are?" he asked. Wanting to see if she knew who she was or not.**

**Penny seem to take a moment to think about that as she looked into her personal information stored within her mind, before perking and standing up,**

**She then gave Kotaro a court bow lifting up the sides of her skirt slightly as she introduced herself.**

**"Salutations mister! My name is Penny Polendina, what is your name if I may inquire?"**

**For some reason the Ultra felt more nervous about how he should answer that. Depending upon what he would Say to her now would truly be the defining moment on how the two would interact with each other from now on**

**And so, steeling his nerves, he then gave her the most compassionate look he could give her. And told her something that the robot girl would forever hold in her memory.**

**"Hello, My name is Kotaro. Kotaro Higashi. I Am... Your Friend."**

"Sensational! I appears to have made a new friend! Perhaps I should find this 'Kotaro Higashi' to be his friend as well!" Penny exclaimed, delighted by having so many friends, which was currently three.

Somewhere else, Khor frowned. _'Three friends… Damn, you know it's bad when the socially inept robogirl has as many friends as you do…'_

Back to the group, the projection shut off soon after, leaving everyone to stretch their legs a bit. However, there were two big topics to be addressed. Two Goliaths in the room, so to speak.

"So, James." Of course it was Qrow, ever the blunt, to speak up. "Wanna talk about something? Like… Project Penny?"

**_That's gonna be fun... or not... depends for who._**

**_And yeah, I don't really like Raven. I mean, she doesn't care about anyone or anything but her tribe - why should I care for her then? I'll try to flesh out her character more, but unless she is directly addressed, it'll be hard._**

**_Until next time,_**

**_Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_And I am back! Life, this time not work. I had a 8-hour-long D&D session yesterday and I'm still feeling the adrenaline! Next should be either ViewingTES or Watching Future Mistakes (WFM). In a while..._**

The atmosphere in the room… cave… whatever space they were currently being held in, was tense. Not as tense as it would've been, hadn't the two parties been friends deep down, but still tense enough that no one wanted to step into the argument.

Qrow Branwen was uncharacteristically serious, his flask hidden but not forgotten (that would never happen, period), and a sharp glare on his handsome features – because screw Winter, he was handsome.

Likewise, Ozpin and Goodwitch alike were looking extra serious and stern, respectively, in preparation for the oncoming argument. They would've usually liked to keep it secret, but with how bluntly the projection had informed them of Penny's origins, they doubted they could keep it a secret for much longer.

Ironwood and Winter were, instead, more than rigid. They looked like they could snap with how stiff they were standing, right across the cave from the aforementioned three. They were wary, and a tad bitter about being forced to reveal an Atlasian Top-Secret military project's specifics, but as previously mentioned, it wasn't like they had much of a chance to keep it secret anyway.

The students were wary and a bit scared. They all knew who they were so seeing an argument between two of Remnant's most famous, respected and powerful men was a sight they really hadn't wanted to see.

Raven, on the other hand, was intrigued. Learning as much as she could always benefited her. It was one of the reasons why, even after backing down from the war, she kept spying on Ozpin – so that she could never be found, but she could know everything. She liked to be in the independent position of power being a rogue Huntress allowed her to have. Furthermore, hearing secrets she could use was always welcome.

Amber and Tai mostly shared the same opinion – that they had no clue what the hell was happening. Both knew Ozpin and Ironwood were friends, and that they trusted each other. They didn't know Ironwood had always been the more rebellious one of the group but it didn't matter, the argument was still unexpected.

Finally, Ozpin broke the silence. "James, we both know we can't stare at each other wordlessly forever. You might as well start. It would give you the field advantage of speaking first."

"This argument shouldn't even be taking place. What you just saw was a _crime_. A leak of Atlas's top secret projects, unauthorized and somehow stolen from our servers," Ironwood replied stiffly. "I am not only following protocol by not disclosing any more information, but I am also following morality. None of you has any right to know about this project."

"Look, Jimmy-"

"General," Winter immediately corrected Qrow, like she always did.

And like he always answered, he rolled his eyes. "Whatever! -The point is, we're doing you a favour."

"By trying to strong-arm me into disclosing secret military files?"

"By giving you the chance to come clean and explain this nicely, instead of waiting for this projector to start up again and rain shit down on you and your military," Qrow retorted, miffed. "You Atlasians think you don't owe explanations to no one, but the truth is that you can't do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want, and expect to get away with it. We've just found out that you've created a battle android and _kept it a secret from the other Kingdoms_. You do realize that by the Treaty of Vytal, this could result in a declaration of war? You're building an army to hide in plain sight."

"It's not-"

"If hiding amongst the normal people and blending in without being noticed wasn't among _Project Penny_'s objectives, then you wouldn't have had her look so real. She's a robot for Dust's sake, what she looks like doesn't influence her Aura!" Qrow glared at the two Atlasians when they flinched. "You could've had her clearly look like a robot. Instead she's under the disguise of a cute young girl who's even more socially awkward than my niece. If that's not trying to hide a weapon within the masses, then I don't know what it is." He turned to Penny for a second. "Not that you're a weapon, but you were built to be one so my point still stands."

His half-assed apology obviously didn't reassure the girl much.

"Her human appearance was _not_ for the final goal of blending into the people," Ironwood stressed out. "She was built like that to reassure the people. It is obvious people feel safer with _human_ protectors rather than _robotic_ protectors. It was a way to boost the people's morals."

"Bullshit."

"Qrow, calm down," Ozpin spoke up, frowning at Ironwood but stopping from going on a tirade against the cyborg. "James, regardless of this, Atlas still kept her existence a secret from all the other Kingdoms. It does look like you're building a secret army."

"Ozpin, not you too, this is-"

"Completely called for," Ozpin cut him off, now a little annoyed by the man's behaviour. "James, you are not getting out of this. You have to explain or we will find out the _other_ way."

"Are you threatening me, Ozpin?" Ironwood spoke up, eerily quiet.

"No. I'm offering you the chance to prevent mistrust from brewing." Ozpin knew that if secrets were to be outed, it was better to completely come clean, or people's trust would waver and break. Too many times it had already happened to him. "James, we are already aware of Penny's capabilities. We are aware that Atlas's Council wanted her to be a tool of war. In a way, we already know the worst of it. If you don't tell us, we'll be forced to come to conclusions ourselves. Do you really want that to happen, in front of the students nonetheless?"

The normally calm General seemed to the verge of snapping. "Ozpin, I told you, this is classified information I will _not_ discuss just because you feel like I should. I may be your friend, but I owe it to Atlas to respect the project's secrecy. I am Headmaster and General, and I hold two seats in the Council – I cannot let down the people who put me here because they trusted me."

"That's a load of bullshit, and you know it, General," Raven laughed melodically, as if enjoying the argument going on in front of her. "You are getting defensive not because this is one of Atlas's secrets… it's because it's one of yours. If it was the former, your tongue would be three feet up Ozpin's ass in your hurry to tell him everything."

The faces of the two soldiers reddened in rage while Qrow and Goodwitch glared at the bandit queen for having interrupted their argument.

"Enough!"

It was rare for Ozpin to raise his voice, but whenever he did, everyone immediately fell silent, just like in the current moment. The Headmaster looked annoyed more than angry, and he was massaging his forehead as if nursing a headache. "Fighting amongst ourselves will not help. James, for the last time, I beg you, tell us about Project Penny."

The General sighed, seemingly defeated, but then he shook his head. "I'm sorry Oz, but this is classified data I am forbidden from disclosing to non-authorized targets. I _can't_."

"But you said you'd explain," Qrow accused him.

"Yes, and I did – I told you you shouldn't pry because it's private business of the Atlas military. I never said I would explain how it works or what the details are," Ironwood rebutted, as if that were to be explanation enough.

Ozpin sighed. It seemed that they would get nowhere if that were to continue. Ironwood was too stubborn for his own good. Dropping the matter, he turned to the _other_ problem that needed to be solved.

Aka, Raven Branwen and how she had carelessly abandoned her family without any thoughts whatsoever to the little newborn who would later grow into Yang.

A woman whose lousy motherly skills were only matched by her cowardice.

For someone who preached that the strong was the only one worthy of living, she ran away from _a lot_ of things. Family, friends, allies, fights, and most of all judgement. Ozpin found it quite ironic. Too bad she also had the skills of a professional Huntress, which she used to raid and pillage nearby villages. And her Semblance made her almost impossible to catch.

Too bad she couldn't use it now.

"Why, Raven?"

Yang's question cut the leftover silence from Ironwood's proclamation like a hot knife through butter. The bandit queen didn't bother replying, and just stared back at her daughter, red eyes into red eyes.

"Why did you leave?" she expanded her question once her 'mother' (appellative about to be rejected) refused to answer, or even just acknowledge her. "Why did you abandon us?"

"The better question would be – why _shouldn't_ I have left?" Raven replied neutrally, uncaring of the emotional impact her words would have on the girl.

"Why… why…" Yang repeated the word a few times, as if uncertain she'd actually had the gall to say that. "You BITCH! How can you say that?! Why did you even have a family, if you didn't intend to stay?!"

Taiyang looked away, knowing what was coming – it was what she'd told _him_ as she left, but those words should never be said to your children.

Raven was unimpressed. "Because it created bonds. Qrow was supposed to take Summer while I took Taiyang, so that we'd then be able to bring them both back to our family, our tribe. It didn't work, so I had a child with Taiyang, hoping to use that as a way to bring him with me. We are in need of Hunter-level fighters. However, when that didn't work, I chose to return to my family. I could've taken you with me, but only the strong survives, and you weren't. I was waiting for you to become strong, and only then I would welcome you into my tribe."

Everyone fell silent. Those words were so full of such _carelessness_… It was as if Raven wouldn't care if Yang dropped dead in the next second. Of course, her rule of one was obviously there still, but that was simply because since she'd given birth to her, she would need to save her, just once.

The expectations of just about every single person in the room were the same – for Yang to blow up like she'd never before.

Instead, she just… deflated.

"That's it?" she breathed, furious but most of all disappointed. "I looked for you for _years_, hoping that your answer would clear my mind. Hoping that you still had some shreds of decency. I never expected for you to actually be my mother but I thought you'd at least act human. But this… this is _disappointing_. I'm not even mad – I can only _pity_ you. I thought you had a reason. Turns out your reason was that you obviously just aren't able to love. And that, I can only pity."

To say people were surprised would be an understatement. Even Ruby and Tai, who knew her the best, were shocked. Yang was indeed very mature, but never when she was also angry. Her anger usually threw every other thought out of the window.

Raven just shrugged.

Ozpin gently coughed into his fist to get everyone's attention. "Well, now that that's taken care of, why don't we sit down and wait for the projector to start? I believe it should be soon, as the crystals have returned to glow."

Indeed they had, and people slowly sat back down. The students were grouped together. Amber and Tai had joined Ozpin's group while Ironwood and Winter had distanced themselves a bit. Raven sat on her own, obviously.

**The sounds of chirping birds was the first thing Kotaro heard as he began to awaken from his sleep. And as he opened up his eyes as he awoke, he was greeted with the pleasant sight of Penny smiling at him.**

A few people were startled by seeing the girl's face so close first thing in the morning.

A few others didn't react. Yang and Ruby were used to each other, Ren and Nora were the same, Jaune… he literally didn't even blink at that. A few others had the training to not be too surprised.

Penny, ironically, was a bit startled.

**"Good morning friend Kotaro!" the robot girl said cheerfully.**

**"Good morning Penny," He said as he gave the robot girl a smile.**

**The two of them where still in the cave that they used to keep them secured from the snowstorm that occurred last night. And as Kotaro looked back from last night.**

**For starters He had to explain to Penny what a friend was. When he introduced himself to her upon her activation and told her that he was her friend, she didn't understand what the word or even the very term friend actually meant. Luckily with nothing better to do last night other than wait out the storm outside Kotaro took the opportunity to explain to Penny what a friend was and what it actually meant.**

"This is odd. I am aware of what a friend is, and yet I have yet to meet Friend Kotaro," Penny noted, confused.

"Penny, you were taught the basics by us, don't you remember?" Ironwood said, a bit peeved that the girl who considered him an Uncle hadn't even remembered that.

"Of course I do, it's in my memory database," nodded the girl. In hindsight, it was obvious she was a robot. "I just wonder why it wasn't in my database since the start."

"Some concepts were just too hard to teach via programming," Ironwood sighed. That, and Dr Polendina was also kind of too scientifically-oriented to give a good definition of friendship.

**Needles to say when she finally grasped the concept she was very overjoyed.**

**He couldn't help but chuckle a little as he recalled all the things that Penny listed of that they could do as friends when she looked it up more in her internal memory banks. It was honestly really cute to see her so excited if he were to be honest.**

**And so all through the night they merely enjoyed each others company.**

Yang immediately saw the opportunity to get her mood back up and opened her mouth to make a dirty joke-

Before Weiss slapped the back of her head and shut her up.

**And as it Turned out Penny had a plethora of information about the world of Remnant stored in her memory. Though due to the fact she was only just born yesterday she lacked social skills to a certain degree. which meant that he would have to teach her how to interact with people and help her understand the world better like a normal person would.**

**'Funny how the Atlas council planned on her blending in to society but never actually Planned on teaching her how to socially interact with people' he thought as the irony was not lost to him.**

Everyone looked at Ironwood, who flushed slightly and looked away. "She was programmed to have enough information of social interaction to be able to not arise too many suspicions. After a while, she'd be ready to blend in."

"No offence to Penny, but her social skills are even worse than Ruby's," Weiss noted before adding, "Even thought she speaks more coherently."

"She ran away from her escorts, unauthorized," Ironwood replied, giving the girl the stink eye.

Penny blushed and shrank in embarrassment.

"Funny how you call me a monster, and yet no one says anything about the killer robot made to infiltrate other Kingdoms," Raven commented with a huff. "Hypocrites."

Qrow choked on his alcohol. "Hyp- hypocrites?! _You_ called us _hypocrites_?!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "You heartless _bitch_! You kill and plunder for your own gain, sacrificing people's lives for the smallest gain! You're nothing short of a _villain_! That girl may have been built for that reason but she doesn't want to kill people! And the Atlasian Council may be full of jackasses, but Project Penny _could_ be what we need against the Grimm!"

"So now you're taking our side?" Ironwood snapped, irritated.

"I'm not taking your side, Jimmy! Shut up!" Qrow turned back to his sister. "She was built like that. You chose to be like that! We gave you _so_ many chances to change, to become something better, and you betrayed us for your own gain over and over again! Thank the Gods that it wasn't _you_ the one made team leader, or Team STRQ would've been known as the most _villainous_ team ever! You have _no_ right to call anyone out on _anything_!"

Raven smirked. "Hit a nerve, brother?"

Qrow's eye twitched before they narrowed. "I am not related to you. You're not my sister. It's clear your family and mine aren't the same."

The students exchanged glances. What should've been a big deal had kind of… lacked impact amongst the adults. None of them reacted.

Hurt flashed in Raven's eyes for a second before she closed them and exhaled slowly. "I see. You've betrayed the family that saved you and grew you up. It's obvious who you're siding with."

The tense face-off lasted for a few more seconds before Raven turned back to the projection. As cold as she was, there were a few things she still cared about, and she'd just lost one.

Yang, Tai and Ruby all got up and went to sit with Qrow. Ruby hugged him, Yang leaned against him and Tai put a hand on his shoulder. The black-haired man just nodded and sighed heavily. It had been difficult, but it had been long overdue. Him and Raven were like water and oil – just too different.

**Regardless, when he asked her if she could answer some questions for him she was more than happy to tell him whatever he wanted or needed to know, and so she answered whatever Kotaro asked her with the best answers she could give.**

**The first thing he learned from her was that Remnant had four major Kingdoms. One was Atlas, and the other three were Vale, Mistral, and Vacuo. Each of these kingdoms had its own culture and environment, and each of them had special schools called Huntsman Academies.**

**Huntsmen and Huntresses were great warriors who had incredible powers called Semblances, which much like the individual they belong to were all unique. They obtain these Semblances by unlocking their aura and going through rigorous training which all led up to hunting down and defending the kingdoms from the Creatures of Grimm.**

"Are you telling me he knew literally _nothing_ on Remnant when he was sent here?!" Weiss almost screeched, trying to contain her disbelief and failing.

Jaune and Ruby exchanged a glance and promptly shrugged. In comics with alien heroes, they usually skipped the part where everything was explained.

"Come on, Ice Queen, you don't need to know what it is to break their legs!" Nora grinned maniacally.

Raven silently made noted of that. If the girl liked to hurt people and things, maybe she could be recruited…

**Grimm. These creatures were as every bit as gruesome as their name implied. Penny explained that Grimm were nightmarish creatures born from darkness and negativity, though no one knows where they originated from.**

**What was widely known though was that the Grimm come in many shapes and sizes, and some of them are more dangerous than others of their kind. On top of that, only seem to exist for the sole purpose of killing people and bringing untold destruction everywhere they went.**

**In a way they where like the Kaiju in a sense, Monsters that only bring destruction wherever they went. And Ultras like him where essentially like Huntsmen and Huntresses, great heroes who fight these monsters to uphold peace in the universe.**

"Yeah, though on a much, much, _much_ smaller scale," Jaune laughed awkwardly, recalling the immense power Ultras and Kaijus wielded. "The only, _tiny_ difference is the galaxy-ending powers, really…"

"I am confused," Penny spoke up. "I thought 'galaxy-ending' powers would be very important differences."

"He was being sarcastic," Yang explained with a grin. She was gonna have so much fun with Penny, if the girl couldn't understand sarcasm. "It's the art of saying something you don't mean, but saying it in a way that makes people understand you mean the opposite."

Poor Penny remained confused.

**The most important aspect of Grimm however was the fact that they had no souls of their own. They demonstrated all sorts of aspects of being living creatures, and yet they had no souls or Aura of their own.**

**That made him wonder. How exactly did these creatures come to be? And, if by some actual possibility, Did someone actually create them?**

Everyone deadpanned. Even Ozpin, who actually knew they were naturally born from pits of Grimm essence.

"Seriously, why would someone create Grimm?" Jaune drawled.

"I mean, what if they created them, but then lost control?" Pyrrha offered.

"Unlikely, they wouldn't have created so many. It's been millennia and we haven't even thinned their numbers," Weiss shook her head. "That's just impossible. But he's new of Remnant, so I guess that if everything had to be explained to him, he couldn't have known."

"Aww… You're-"

"No, Yang, I'm not going soft."

**So many questions, and not enough answers.**

**Another thing Kotaro also recalled from last night was how he explained to her two very important pieces of information that he felt she had a right to know about.**

**First, he told her about her origins. Kotaro felt that Penny had every right to know about what she is and where she came from because it wouldn't feel right to lie to her about it.**

**And fortunately Penny took what he told her rather well, but for only a brief moment he did notice a look that appeared in her eyes when she told him she was thankful for telling her where she had originally come from, and why was constructed from the start.**

**Chances were that even though she said she was fine something told him she wasn't completely okay with what she was. He would have to talk to her about it, but he felt that it wasn't a good time to do that just yet.**

Ruby looked at Penny, who looked a bit confused by her other self's behaviour.

The truth was, she'd come to terms with what she was. She wasn't a real girl and she knew it. Another thing that confused her was how everyone was treating her. Like she wasn't even a robot. Qrow had even apologized when he'd mentioned Project PENNY…

She would need to ask them later.

**As for the second thing he revealed to her, that, was more personal.**

* * *

**Flashback to last night.**

**"Totally an anime, I mean, there are even the 'flashback' title screens!" Jaune grinned victoriously.**

**"You said that already, you dolt!" Weiss replied, throwing a stray pebble at his head.**

**"I rest my case!"**

* * *

**"You're an Alien?"**

**To say Penny was shocked would be an understatement.**

**For the past thirty minutes, both Kotaro and Penny have done nothing other than made small talk with each other. Kotaro made it upon himself to explain the whole situation between the two of them and went as far as to explain about how they both came to meet each other.**

"Wait a second, did he just tell her everything?" Jaune said, confused. Normally, in comics, the protagonist kept it close to the chest for a while. "This is weird… Or maybe not. I guess it could happen."

"Still weird though, I thought he wouldn't tell anyone…" Ruby nodded alongside him, the two experts on the subject having booked tickets for the same train of thoughts.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "It's not one of your stupid comics."

"They're not stupid!"

**In a way she felt two very conflicting emotions when it came to about what she was and what was planned for her by the Atlas Council.**

**A part of her couldn't help but feel thankful. Here she was with a complete stranger who she had met only thirty-two minutes and seventy-two seconds ago upon her, what she could consider her 'Birth', and he still went out of his way to help her. And to give her something she wasn't going to be given before.**

"Question, why didn't she just say thirty-three minutes and twelve seconds?" Nora spoke up, cheerfully confused.

Penny blinked. "I am not sure. I believe I wouldn't have made such a mistake."

"Maybe it's the cold messing with something?" Amber offered weakly, feeling extremely out of place. She knew that intense cold could seriously mess with things and people because the Maiden's Powers allowed her to create blizzards and freeze entire buildings solid. Not that she'd ever needed to use it like that.

**A choice.**

**Never in her still short lifetime has she ever been so happy to have met a man like Kotaro and have him as her very first friend.**

**The other part of her though couldn't help but feel very conflicted about one simple fact. What she is.**

"A robot?" offered Raven.

"A girl?" said Ruby.

"Cold?" Nora spoke up, and shrugged at the looks she got. "What? She's probably cold if they are in Atlas."

**For now though, she put those more negative feelings aside for now and just enjoyed the time she spent with her very first friend.**

**They mostly talked about what they plan to do in the morning when the storm outside dissipated, among those plans was to first find a settlement of some kind and then make their way from there.**

"Duh," Weiss rolled her eyes.

"No shit, what else there is to do?" Yang chuckled.

"Well, they could actually do a lot of things, from toughing it out in the wilds to wandering until they find the biggest city," Jaune tried to defend what was going on, though even he had to admit that the two of them would need to find a town anyway.

His friends' eye rolls told him they had seen right through him, like usual. He wasn't a good liar, dammit! Nevermind he actually got into Beacon, fooling even Ozpin.

Ozpin, on his part, withheld a sneeze. Was someone talking about him?

**However it was later on during their conversations did Kotaro reveal the truth about what and who he his to her.**

**"Yes. While i may look like a human I am in fact not originally from Remnant at all," he explained to her**

**"Then if this is true than who are you really friend Kotaro?" Penny asked now truly interested in knowing more about the man who pulled her away from a life of being a weapon.**

"Wow, loving the redhead lass, taking it in stride even when she's being told the guy who saved her is some kind of alien from another world unknown to mankind," laughed Qrow. "Gotta love the acceptance."

Amber allowed herself a small smirk as well. "True… honestly, if something like this were to happen to me, I'm not sure how I would react." Probably not unlike how she'd first reacted when she'd gotten her Maiden Powers, and then again when Ozpin had found her and told her what they were.

**Kotaro took a moment to close his eyes, straighten himself out, and take a deep breath and exhaling. He then open his eyes and looked into Penny's green ones, before telling her the Truth.**

**"My real name is Taro. And I, am an Ultraman."**

**With that Kotaro, or Taro as was his actual name, began to tell Penny the story of his people and the Land of Light. He told her how much like the people of Remnant his people resembled humans as well, which honestly surprised the robot girl with how there were other races out there in the cosmos that looked exactly like Remnant's people. It was honestly really incredible.**

**However she then felt what Kotaro described to her as sadness when she learned of what happened to his home world when its sun died. The thought of something so terrible happening to such a peaceful race of people was very disheartening to hear. Luckily for her, Kotaro explained that his people had managed to pull through the disaster that struck them and create their crowning achievement that saved their world.**

**The Plasma Spark.**

**Then what he explained next really amazed her. From what she was told, when the Plasma Spark bathed it's light and power across the planet, it had an adverse effect on the Land of Lights people. Its energy had transformed them into beings of light who were gifted with new forms and incredible powers!**

**And they had decided to call themselves, the Ultras.**

**And with their newfound forms and powers, the Ultras had decided to use their newfound powers to defend the universe from the forces of darkness.**

**It was honestly like something out of a fairytale. A race of beings who hale from a land of light, who use their incredible powers to save lives and battle with horrible monsters. It was all so amazing and Penny was making sure to store and engrave this information in her memory banks.**

"Alright, this is even more absurd to hear than it was to see it," Winter commented, still finding it _really_ hard to believe it was actually true. As far as she was concerned, she wouldn't believe it until she saw that Taro man in person.

The students, meanwhile, were all amused by the fact Taro sounded just like one of their teachers, who was incidentally named Kotaro Higashi as well. They would be calling him 'Professor Taro' or 'UltraProf' for months after they returned home.

Back on Remnant, Kotaro Higashi felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of dread, as if some of his more troublesome students would soon give him a heart attack by almost guessing his secret identity. How he could have such a precise sense of dread, even he didn't know.

**However as she continued to listen to Kotaro's people's history, one bit of information that caught her attention.**

**Raising up her hand much like a school student, she then asked one simple Question. "Friend Kotaro, i am sorry to interrupt you but i have a query i must ask you. Who are Rayblood and Belial?"**

**At the mention of the names Kotaro sighed, adopting a certain look on his face as if he was expecting her to ask that. "Well Penny, I've already explained this much, so i might as well tell you about those two."**

"He didn't tell her about them?" Amber frowned. "I thought they were integral part of his story…"

"He must've mentioned them carelessly but omitted the part where they destroyed almost all of Ultra or whatever their planet is called," replied Weiss.

"Land of Light," Penny helpfully supplied.

"I guess Penny's gonna get some answers, huh?" Sun grinned, giving a thumbs-up. "Though I still haven't been told why I'm here…"

No one answered him. Poor guy.

**Penny waited as Kotaro seem to steel himself before he began to explain to her everything he knew about the two.**

**"You see Penny, my people have been around for a very, very long time. And during that time we had made and battled many enemies and monsters alike." he said while the Gynoid listened intently, "But none of them, and i mean NONE of them, are more infamous than Alien Rayblood. Or as many have come to call him, The Shepherd of Monsters."**

**With that said, Kotaro held his hands out and small sphere Of light formed in his hands. When the sphere fully formed in bis hands, images began to from until Penny finally got a glimpse of this 'Alien Rayblood'.**

**Penny didn't even know where to describe the Aliens appearance, he was tall and had a somewhat lanky body, and body colors consisted of shades of blue and grey and his head had what she could only guess where some kind of horns, or at least whatever counted as horns for this alien's species. Finally while he lacked any facial features he did have a pair of eyes, a pair of blank, soulless white eyes that seem to pierce you as he looked right at you.**

Everyone in the audience shuddered. They couldn't explain the quick feeling of terror they felt for a second, but as quick as it'd arrived, it was gone. They shook themselves and continued watching the projection.

**But for some reason that Penny couldn't explain, just seeing a projection of Rayblood sent a shiver down her metal spine. Like just seeing his projection alone installed some kind of fear into you. However she quickly forgot about these feelings when she remembered something.**

**"Why do they call him that? The Shepherd of Monsters i mean." Penny asked.**

**" Its because of his power," seeing Penny's confused look Kotaro kept explaining everything to her, "Reiblood has a unique power that runs down to his very genes, the power to control Kaiju, Giant Monsters ranging from prehistoric beasts to planet destroying Goliaths. they all differ in terms of appearances and abilities much like the the Grimm in a sense. And Reiblood could make them all slaves to his will with nothing but his sheer willpower alone."**

**As expected, Penny was surprised for what felt like the umpteenth time today. A being that could control Monsters, with only his sheer will?**

**That honestly frightened the ginger haired girl. For what if this Reiblood came to Remnant? Would he use his powers to control the creatures of Grimm as well? and if so what would that mean for all of Remnant and its people if such a being came to their world?**

**And it was these thoughts that made a certain thought came to mind, "if this Reiblood was so dangerous why hasn't he been stopped by you or the other Ultras?" she asked him.**

**"Because of two reasons." He said as he started to list off the reasons, "Firstly, he's been dead for a very long time, but his spirit resides everywhere across the multiverse. The reason for that is because he searches for a successor."**

"Even in death, evil manages to corrupt and hurt," Ozpin sighed, knowing that villains never stopped. Even if one of them died, another one would just take their place.

The saying 'as long as evil stands, good will rise up against it' worked both ways. Heroes could save people, but evil would always strive to defeat them and conquer the world.

**"To do this, He spread his genes across all the universes and amongst all living creatures. Those who carry his genes are called Reionix. Reionix, much like Reiblood himself, can control other Monsters with the power his genes and special devices called Battlenisers. And from the shadows he watches... as he secretly influences the Reionix to destroy each other." he explained.**

**"He... makes them fight to the death," Penny said with horror laced in her voice. Her innocent mind was trying but failing to understand how anyone could be so, so... Evil. "How anyone could be so needlessly cruel and do something so horrible."**

"To find the cruellest successor," Qrow said at the same at which Raven said, "To find the strongest successor."

The two exchanged glares.

"It is unfortunately not unexpected," Amber sighed, shaking her head. Honestly, it wasn't even the worst he could've done. He could've made them kill each other, then pitted them against other monsters, then tortured them for centuries until they were completely insane and only set on total destruction.

**"Like i said, to find a successor," Said Koatro, as he then began to go into full detail of whatbhe was implying to her. "Because think about it for a moment, Even as a Ghost Rayblood is powerful enough to create entire Black Holes to swallow entire planets just by opening up and outstretching his hand. And can bend the wills of entire armies worth if giant monsters to obey him without fail. Now take all of that into context, and just imagine what the person he he deems worthy enough to replace him would be like."**

**And she did, and the more she thought about it the more terrifying the very idea became.**

**As Kotaro put it this Rayblood sounded powerful enough to destroy Remnant just by simply waving his hand. And Rayblood was looking for someone who would not only have all his powers, but be even stronger than him in every sense of the word.**

**It was frightening to imagine.**

Indeed it was. A good chunk of the students shrank and subtly shuffled closer together, as if Rayblood were to be about to appear at any given moment. The adults stiffened at the thought of such a powerful entity, but they otherwise reigning in their emotions – emotions were the bane of Hunters, when it came to fighting Grimm.

**Seeing how distress Penny was getting from this, Kotaro decided to change the subject. He continued on to explain on who Belial was, he told her that much like himself Belial was an Ultraman much like him. He was a prodigy who was known throughout the Land of Light as one of its greatest warriors, and was known to be one of the greatest Ultras in the entire Space Garrison.**

**But one day Belial did the Unthinkable by trying to take the power of his home worlds life source, the Plasma Spark. However it didn't go as Belial intended as not only did the power prove to much for him to handle, but for attempting to take the power for himself he was banished from his home as well.**

**Kotaro Explained that if Belial had removed the Plasma Spark from its chamber, and take it for himself, all life on his home world would've died, as it was only because of the Plasma Spark that their world didn't freeze from the cold of outer space. That's why Belial was exiled, not just because of his desire for power but because if he had succeeded he would've eneded up dooming everyone on his home to a cold and frozen fate.**

**And that's when met Rayblood.**

**Rayblood had took Belial's exile as an opportunity to accomplish his goals, and had merged himself with the Ultra Turning him from a warrior of light to a warrior of darkness.**

**The Image or the Dark Ultra was truly something out a nightmare when Kotaro showed it to her with the image sphere. Belial was a muscular ultra with a body that was pitch black with hellish red marks all across him. In the center of his chest was a blue crystal, which Kotaro explained was color timer, that was a sickly dark purple in color. And his hands ended in long sharp claw-like talons. But the truly the most notable of all his features were his eyes, large and curved and glowed a hellish red. And they burned with only one singular emotion.**

**RAGE.**

**'He... looks like a Grimm.' Penny couldn't help but think to herself, as the similarities were rather close to each other.**

"He does look eerily similar to a Grimm." Qrow hated to admit it, but that guy gave him the creeps, even to him, a professional battle-worn Huntsman.

"I wonder how strong Taro is, compared to him," Goodwitch wondered out loud, accidentally making everyone else consider the same.

"We would need to see Taro fight before we can know that," Ren commented. "And if the Ultramen are really so strong, I am not sure we _want_ to see him fight something on his level."

That sent another shiver down everyone's spines.

Raven, on her part, was firmly telling herself that she wasn't afraid, and that it was just too chilly for her tastes. She lived in Mistral, where it was always fairly warm, so it made sense for her to shiver slightly in that cold cave, deep underground somewhere.

Nevermind they were close to a freaking volcano.

**From there Kotaro went on to Explain that Rayblood had also given Belial his own Battlenizer known as the Giga-Battlenizer, a more powerful version of any Battlenizer as it could let him control and summon over a hundred monsters at once. A perfect tool for his newfound powers.**

**He then showed Penny an image of the weapon, it was a staff that was a dark in color and had two clubs attached at each end that were highlighted with little blue lights.**

**From there, Belial returned to the land of light with an entire army of Kaiju at his command. He would have destroyed the Land of Light if not for the arrival of Ultraman King.**

**King as Kotaro described was the most powerful being in all the Universe. So great were his abilities, that he could restore the dead back to life, and prevent universe destroying catastrophes with nothing but his sheer energy alone.**

"Bullshit!" Weiss exclaimed, shocking everyone with her outburst. "I call bullshit! No one can bring back the dead! No one! That's just-"

_Bonk!_

Weiss fell silent as Winter smacked her on the head – _hard_. "Weiss, behave yourself. That is not the reaction befitting of someone of your status," the Specialist remarked.

"Jeez, you Atlas Specialists think you're so special, don't you?" Qrow taunted her with a huff.

"She is not a Specialist. Had she been one, I would've told that it's implied in the title itself, and-"

"Schnee, enough. He's provoking you. Don't start an altercation now," Ironwood commanded neutrally, making her fall silent. "And you, I would prefer if you didn't try to pick a fight with my soldiers, Qrow."

The man just pointed a finger at his chest with a disbelieving expression, as if to say 'Who? Me?'

Ironwood groaned in exasperation.

**Even from just seeing the image of the ancient Ultra, Penny couldn't help but feel awed about him. "He sounds amazing! and he's the one who sent you here to Remnant?" she asked.**

**"You better believe it." Kotaro confirmed as he looked back to all the time he spent training with the Legendary Ultraman. King was every bit as amazing as his own father made him out to be when he was younger, and even then that didn't even begin to describe how amazing he was.**

**"Wow... so what happened next" Penny asked as she was really getting into this tale.**

**From there he explained that king used his powers to trap Belial in his own prison, locking away the evil Ultra for all eternity. And sure enough over time the damage that Belial caused became undone and peace had returned to the Land of Light once more.**

**"Its kind of sad though when you think about it. In his desire to get stronger he had lost everything he had and ended up being turned into a monster himself. Believe it or not my father actually was very close friends with him." He said.**

"Yeah, I can name another one who ended up _just_ like that," Yang shot a sharp look in Raven's direction.

The woman just huffed. "I did not lose anything. I earned my powers, and I gained a lot by my own strength. I am nothing like that failure."

"Is she really that conceited, or is it her way of coping with knowing someone outclasses her _that_ much?" Amber asked Qrow, having sat beside him earlier.

Qrow thought about it a little. "I guess both. She's scared so she's forcing herself to believe she's still the strongest person around. Defence mechanisms and all that bullshit. You know, since she's given up everything for her inane rule of strength, and now she's feeling like a particularly disgusting squashed bug under the Ultramen's soles."

Raven seethed at that. "I could probably kill any of those so-called '_Ultras_' without taking a single hit."

"Of course you wouldn't take hits – they'd kill you before you even think of drawing your sword."

With a growl of anger, Raven sat back down. "We shall see, _Qrow_. In the end, we shall see who was right and who wasn't."

**Penny perked up a little more from that bit of information, "Your Father was friends with Belial?"**

**"Oh yeah, very close really! Dad always talked about the things they accomplished together whenever it was brought Up."**

**Now Really interested Penny then asked, "So who is your father Kotaro?". However when she asked that question Kotaro then looked like he became rather embarrassed about something.**

**"Uh well, that's the thing... my Father is... well... the Supreme commander of the Space garrison along with my Mother."**

"WHAT?!" was everyone's response to that.

"He's the son of the two head honcho?" Nora grinned like a madwoman at that. "Wow, he must be really important then! Maybe he's meant to one day take over and be the Supreme Commander himself!"

Ren shook his head to banish the shock. "Nora, he may very well not be able to do that any more. Remember – he was exiled for having tried to touch the Plasma Spark."

"We don't know for sure."

"Yes we do."

"It wasn't shown onscreen."

Ren threw his hands in the air and admitted defeat.

**"Really?!" Penny said in shock! Not expecting that bit of information for one moment, "But wouldn't that mean in some relevance to hierarchy, with them being your parents, Would that make you a Prince?"**

"Prince can only apply when someone is of royal blood _and_ the spawn of the ruling monarch," Weiss rattled off, more than happy to correct someone. "Which means that while he may be important, he is not a prince."

"That's actually not true," Taiyang spoke up. "Or, well, it's not true that he cannot be a prince. If his parents rule the Ultramen, then he is a prince of sorts. They are very important, so it wouldn't be impossible for them to be the rulers of their world, the Land of Light."

**"Uh well, i wouldn't say it like that but i guess that's one way to look at it. My parents, Father of Ultra and Mother of Ultra, said they saw great potential in me when i was very young. And ever since then they trained me to be the strongest Ultraman ever, something I did my best to live up to" He said as he showed her an image from the sphere again as it showed two different Ultras.**

**The first was a Male Ultra who had a Muscular build, and his body was red and silver in color and he also had a sideburns running down his face, and had yellow, almond-shaped dome eyes. And around his waist was a silver belt with a large buckle. The most striking feature about him though were the large pair of horns on his head.**

"He must be his father," noted Sun. "They don't really look alike."

"Meh," everyone else shrugged. Taro was in disguise anyway.

**The second Ultra was a female, she had a very elegant look and much like her husband she was also red and silver in color as well as the same kind of eyes as well. She she had six metal orbs running down the center of her torso that went from biggest to smallest from the top, and she had a blue wristband on her left arm. She also had a crest on her head and a pair of pigtails on her head.**

"What are those metal balls for?" asked Ruby, pointing at the orbs on the woman's torso. "Are they like tattoos?"

"I guess we will never know. Perhaps they are ornamentals. Perhaps they are somehow important." Ozpin as usual was being vague as all hell. Even though hell is not vague at all. "For now, I believe we cannot answer that question."

**"Well there you have it, the truth of who i am and The story of my people." Kotaro said as he willed sway the sphere in his hands. And now he waited to see how Penny would react from what he told her.**

**Penny remained quiet for a moment, adopting a look on her face as she took the time to absorb everything she has just learned, "It's all so incredible. everything about this is so unbelievable but somehow i know your telling the truth." she said, before she looked back up and gave him her usual happy smile that he was familiar with.**

"That's impossible, there's no way!" Amber exclaimed, shocked that someone could somehow believe such a story just because they had a feeling it was the truth. "I would've asked for proof over proof over proof!"

Penny took her signature megawatt smile and somehow turned it up into a gigawatt smile. "My sensor are capable of analysing people's voices, body language and heartbeat to deduce whether they are lying or not. Only the most skilled of liars would be able to fool me, and even then, not if they were to tell such an unlikely story."

"Wow." Amber's eyes widened. "That's cool."

**"But I'm happy that you told all of this, I honestly think that it's so incredible how our friendship is so out of this world!" she said without a hint of any ill will, which honestly made the Ultra really happy that Penny accepts him for what his is.**

"YOU ROCK GIRL, YOU'RE OFFICIALLY ACCEPTED IN THE HOLY CHURCH OF PUNS!" Yang screamed enthusiastically, startling everyone else. Nora fell on the ground, Jaune squeaked and hid behind Pyrrha, Blake meowed and jumped three feet in the air, while everyone else leaned back from the cheerful blonde… before groaning at what she'd said.

"Yang, no…" her father tried to stop her.

"Yang, YES!"

**As well as earning a bit of a laugh at her unintended pun.**

Silence, absolute silence. Then…

"HE LAUGHED! I LOVE HIM! I WANT TO MARRY HIM! HE LAUGHED AT A PUN! HE'S THE MAN OF MY DREAMS!" Yang screamed even louder, forcing poor Blake to cover her cat ears lest she got deafened permanently.

"Jeez, firecracker, I didn't think you were _that_ desperate for someone to laugh at your puns…" Qrow groaned, rubbing his ringing ears.

"I don't understand – why is Friend Yang so happy about someone laughing? People laugh all the time," Penny asked, confused. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why would someone be _that_ happy about laughing. "After all, jokes are common amongst friends, according to my database."

"Yes, but her puns are never funny, so no one ever laughs at them," Ruby tiredly explained, having already had to explain her sister's obsession with puns to a lot of people in the past, mainly Yang's friends. "We don't laugh at puns any more because we're desens- desint-… _We~iss_?"

Weiss rolled her eyes at the childish call for help. "Desensitised."

"Yeah, that! We're dentistised to them. So Yang's really happy someone laughed at a pun, even if it wasn't hers."

**With everything being said between them now though, the two decided it was time to Go to bed and called it a night.**

* * *

**Flashback End.**

* * *

**Now it was morning on the next day. And the Two of them decided it was time to be on the move again.**

**"Say Penny?"**

**"Yes Friend Kotaro?" Said Penny as she took a moment away from doing a diagnostics run on herself.**

**"I'm just going on a whim here but, you wouldn't happen to have an internal map or anything would you?" he asked, while he did take the time to read over Penny's blueprints he hasn't gotten that far on them yet. So it would be essential and beneficial for the both of them to learn as much about Penny's design as possible. "I figured that if you do have one we could figure out where we are and hopefully find a settlement somewhere."**

"Well, that would be very useful," commented Ren.

"Yes, but chances are that she won't have one," Jaune replied with a sigh. Comics were so predictable. If the main character was lost in the wilderness, it was almost impossible for them to have a map. And even if they had one, either they lost it, they couldn't read it, or they didn't know where they were on the map.

**Penny adopted a thinking look as she began looking through her systems. And after a brief moment of searching she perked up smiling, "Oh, yes i do! From what i can tell we're not that far from Argus actually."**

**"Argus?"**

"Argus?" Jaune echoed, surprised.

"You know Argus?" Weiss asked him, not expecting him to know of that city. Though to be honest, she never expected him to know anything.

"Of course I do, my sister and her wife live there!" Jaune exclaimed. "Which reminds me, I'll have to visit. I'm due to become an uncle in four weeks from now, so I can't miss that. Plus, Saph and Terra might need the extra hand."

"Oh, yeah, you told us about your sister," Ruby recalled, nodding. "Don't you have, like, five of them?"

"Ugh, seven." Jaune found some solace in the fact that he wasn't the only one to think that was an astronomically high number. "Yes, I know. My household was one of high libido, very crowded spaces, and all-too-common childhood traumas of walking in on my parents."

Everyone groaned in disgust. "Didn't you learn not to enter their bedroom, ever?" Yang snickered.

Jaune had a faraway, haunted look as he replied, "They were never in the bedroom…"

Another groan of disgust echoed in the cave. Though honestly, what else could his parents have been, if not sexual deviants or something? Who the hell had EIGHT kids?

**"Argus is a port city in the northern region of the Kingdom of Mistral, and acts as the major trading center between the continents of Anima and Solitas. It is one of the largest non-capital cities in all of Remnant." Penny explained to him, "so we are really fortunate that it's close by."**

**"Indeed it is. So how far is it from here?" Kotaro asked, the sooner they were out of these woods the better.**

**Taking a moment to check, Penny gave her verdict. "I calculate that the distance from our position in this cave to be roughly over 100 miles from here. If we leave now we may get there in two or three days."**

"A hundred miles in two or three days?!" Jaune exclaimed. "That's crazy!"

"Not really, Hunters can travel fast and untiringly for long distances," Weiss replied before she was lightly smacked by Blake. "Hey!"

"Stop correcting everything he says," Blake berated her, rolling her eyes at the heiress's pettiness and attempts to annoy the Arc into stopping his courtship. "What I'm curious about is – shouldn't Taro have landed on Atlas?"

"Yeah… it said Atlas…" Yang nodded, realizing that as well.

"Did he cross the ocean?" Blake wondered.

"I see no reason for an Atlasian warship to be flying anywhere near Argus, not with Penny Polendina onboard," Winter replied, confused.

Ozpin merely shrugged. "Perhaps it was a bit of a mistake… or maybe Mr Taro really did cross the ocean. It's not so unlikely considering he was trained by world-saving warriors to fight against galaxy-destroying monsters."

Everyone nodded at his words. Yeah, when put it like that, crossing the ocean wasn't all that impossible.

**"Then let's not waste any time getting there. Let's move out Penny." Kotaro said.**

**"Right away!" Penny jumped as she quickly began following the Ultra.**

**And so our heroes where on the move together for the first time. Their destination, Argus.**

* * *

**Two Days Later.**

* * *

**It had been over two days since the unlikely duo have been walking.**

**All through that time nothing to uneventful happened and our heroes were almost To the city of Argus.**

**Other than the first Grimm encounter that the two experienced.**

**It was during the first day on their travels did they encounter a Farm on their way to Argus, However Instead of finding living people like they expected it turned out the residents were all dead.**

All the students shivered at the sight of the dead bodies.

In a possible future where RWBY were scattered and RNJR formed, the latter would be desensitised to death by the time they stumbled into the Brunswick farm. However, the students now, almost two years earlier, weren't prepared to deal with the sight of corpses.

The adults bowed their heads in respect for the dead, except for Raven, who muttered a quick 'weaklings' and nothing else.

**The most Mysterious thing about their deaths though were two facts. Firstly, nothing was destroyed and the people all died in their beds without a scratch. It was only when they found the estate's founder journal, which used to be owned by a man named Bartleby, did they discover the cause of everyone's deaths in the estate.**

**The Apathy.**

"The Apathy," Penny repeated, looking the name up on her personal Grimmology Index stored in her memory database. "Humanoid Grimm. Speed: E. Strength: E. Armour: E. Dangerousness: B. Special abilities: _Keening Wail_, drains the victims' will to live, leaving them defenceless to attacks. A pack's single cry is enough to make even a battle-hardened Hunter lay down and accept their fate. Do not engage in close range."

"That's the kind of Grimm there are in Anima?" Jaune exclaimed, freaked out by that Grimm.

"Habitat: everywhere. Rarity: very rare." Penny added, making him relax ever so slightly at the rarity, but tense at how they were everywhere.

"Great. And I'm the only one in the entirety of Beacon who can't fight at range…" the poor blonde groaned.

His teammates tried to comfort him, Ruby offered to get him a gun, the rest of her team just shrugging. Everyone else didn't really care.

**From what Penny described of them, from her personal Grimmology Index stored in her memory, the Apathy were a breed of rather dangerous Grimm, and for good reason too.**

**What made them so dangerous was the fact that while they were slow and not particularly strong as most others of their kind, they had the dangerous ability to sap away the will to live from living creatures. A rather dangerous ability that was the cause of everyone in Bartleby's estate to perish.**

"Okay, can we appreciate the two Pennies said more or less the same thing?" Yang grinned, trying to shake off the dread the corpses' sight instilled in her.

No one else laughed.

**From what they learned from the Journal, Bartleby had caught two of them in an attempt to cut costs on Huntsman protection against Grimm by keeping the estate calm. Unfortunately, the rest of pack followed the two he caught to the farm, draining the will to live from the entire estate, hence why everyone died in their beds.**

**Needless to say it didn't take long for the two to find whatever flammable liquids they could get on the farm, throw them down into the underground areas where the monsters rested, and set fire to the entire lot of them.**

"KILL IT WITH FIRE!" all the students cried out at seeing the Apathy's drawing made by Bartleby, and again when they spotted the monsters.

Everyone shuddered in horror, but they were glad those monsters were gone. Even if Taro could probably kill them all, there was no reason to risk it… or to make them look at them any longer than they had to.

**It was a much safer way to destroy them rather than going down into their lair instead.**

**After making sure that those beasts were all dead, Kotaro and Penny buried the estate's residents and went on the move again.**

**Penny had been rather down after the whole ordeal. Mainly because it was the first time seeing someone's dead body before. Fortunately Kotaro was able to help cheer the robot girl back up to her more chipper mood and all was right again.**

**Which brings us to now, as our two travelers are finally arriving near Argus.**

**"It's not much farther, we should be seeing the city just up ahead over this hill," Said Kotaro as he walked beside a now very excited Penny. The Robot Girl currently having more hop in her step than usual. Which was good because it meant she recovered from the experience from two days ago.**

**"Oh~ this is so exciting! My first time in a actual city, I can't wait to see what we'll find in Argus," Penny said as was already picturing all the fun she and Kotaro will have at the city. " We could do all sorts of fun things in Argus, maybe make some new friends too! Oh i'm so excited i think i could short circuit!"**

**"It is rather exciting" Kotaro admitted as he watched Penny bounce about with a chipper smile. And as he watched Penny as she bounced in every step, he wondered how anyone would want to turn such a free spirit into a tool of war.**

"It is a rather heartless decision," Goodwitch agreed, glaring at General Ironwood, who in turn scowled right back at her, but kept silent.

"Fortunately, it seems your knight in shining armour has rescued you from such a fate!" Yang exclaimed teasingly, trying to get a rise out of the girl.

"But he is not wearing armour…" Yang face-palmed at the gynoid's reply. She was _far far faaar_ too innocent. Even Ruby could've understood that one!

**The very idea was sacrilege!**

**"Oh I can't wait! What do you think we should do first when we arrive?" Penny asked as she looked over to Kotaro.**

**"Well first order of business is to find somewhere to stay for the night, then we can figure out what to do from there. I rather we take a long rest somewhere more comfortable before anything else. Especially after what we've experienced not to long before." He said as a grim look came to his face.**

**Penny knew what he was talking about and the two came to a sudden halt as they both looked down to the ground.**

**The Gynoid would be lying if she said that she still wasn't bothered by seeing those poor peoples lifeless corpses and that didn't bother Her still.**

"They would bother anyone…" Qrow murmured before looking at Ironwood, Winter and Raven. "Well, anyone who has a heart made of flesh and not of metal or ice, of course."

"I do regret those poor people had to die, but there was nothing I could've possibly done," the General rebuked before Winter could start a fight.

**She may look like a mature young woman but she was still only just born only recently. She was still experiencing everythingbthe world had to offer her. And Death was still a new thing to her, even if she understood that it was just natural part of life.**

**But that still doesn't mean it didn't bother her.**

**Seeing her distress, Kotaro put a hand on her shoulder making the robot girl look up to him, "Hey don't worry. We did what we could and made sure that nothing liked that would ever happen to anyone else" he said reassuringly. "All we can do now move on, so don't be so down."**

**Penny just smiled at his words as she returned to her optimistic behavior again. "Thank you Kotaro." she said**

**"Don't mention it Penny," the Ultra said as he Gave her a smile, "Now, what do you say we head down to Argus and go sight seeing?"**

**"Sensational!" Penny whooped, "This is going to be so much fu-"**

"A thousand Lien she just jinxed it and something bad is about to happen," Jaune grinned.

Everyone else, still remembering how he won half a million against Weiss on a bet, wisely chose not to answer.

Raven, however, hadn't learned the lesson. "That's stupid. There's no way you can predict the future. I'll take that bet."

**KRA-KOOM!**

**Everyone turned to Raven with matching grins.**

**She sputtered and growled. "It was a stupid bet," she snarled, glaring scathingly at Jaune, daring him to try and get the money.**

**Qrow snickered and mumbled a 'sore loser' in her direction.**

**At that moment though the sound of a massive explosion caught the both of them off guard. Taking a brief moment to look at each other they quickly made their way up the hill just in time to see A shocking sight!**

**For there, out in the distance was the city of Argus.**

**And it was under attack by an entire horde of Grimm.**

"_NO!_" everyone jumped at Jaune's terrified outcry. He jumped to his feet. "SAPHRON! _SAPHRON!_"

"Jaune, calm down, your sister's safe!" Pyrrha exclaimed, trying to calm him down, but to no avail. Normally, she alone could easily overpower the Arc in just about anything, but now that his sister's life was apparently in danger, even with Nora's help they could barely keep him from launching himself at the projection.

Ren immediately stepped in, putting a hand on his shoulder and using his Semblance before nodding to the two girls, who let him drop to the ground, emotionless. "I think it would be best if he were to remain under my Semblance's influence for a while still."

"Yes, I think it would be best," Ozpin nodded, knowing fully well just how strong familial love could be – and how destructive protective siblings could be. Yang using her Semblance looked tame in comparison to a rightfully enraged man or woman whose beloved siblings had been hurt. "Besides, Taro is incredibly powerful – I'm sure he'll manage to help."

"Let's hope so, sir…" Ren's eyes became foggy as he was thrown back to a different time, in a different town. One no Hunter had come to save. "Let's hope so…"

**And all of them were circling over one giant Grimm. It was a gigantic, bipedal, reptilian-like sea Grimm with four humanoid limbs and a long tail. It has four gills on each side of its neck and a collection of dorsal plates protruding from its back, with red webbing between each plate. It has a dolphin-like head with a mouth filled with sharp teeth and three yellow eyes on each side of the head. Like many other Grimm it has external ribs.**

**A Leviathan, and it's destination was Argus. Its intent, was ruin.**

**It would seem rest would have wait for now.**

The projection shut off.

"Oh no…"

"All those poor people…"

"Why aren't the Hunters doing anything?"

"They're gonna die…"

Ironwood cleared his throat, hushing the whispers. "Don't worry, students. A powerful Atlas-made mech titan robot is stationed in Argus exactly for these situations. It is specifically designed to take care of monsters such as the Leviathan. Argus will be safe."

"Are you sure?" Ren asked.

"Positive."

With a sigh, the boy released his Semblance, and then quickly stepped aside. Jaune, having heard Ironwood, sighed and started biting his fingernails as he waited for the projectors to come back up.

"Saph, please be safe…"

**_Indeed the story said first Atlas and then Argus (Mistral), but given Taro's powers it's not so unlikely for him to have crossed the ocean._**

**_Hope you enjoyed!_**

**_Until next time,_**

**_Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Heya guys! Here it is! The next chapter! Honestly I didn't think I'd be able to finish it today, hehe. My brother kept bugging me. Fortunately after half an hour of me basically ignoring him if not for monosyllabic replies, he left me alone and went to his room to watch anime and play games, so I managed to finish this!_**

**_As usual, this story has been commissioned by Ultrahero74! Enjoy!_**

It really wasn't a good moment for the projectors to take longer than usual, but that was what happened either way.

The audience, left in the dark regarding the fate of the city, tried to find _some_ ways to ease their tension while they waited. However, the empty cave was… well, an empty cave. So the most anyone could do was to get lost in their own thoughts.

Ozpin was considering interrogating the Kotaro Higashi from _his_ Remnant. By then, it was almost certain that the dear Professor was the same man they were watching onscreen, but had simply been more cautious. Without the need to use his powers, perhaps he had decided to keep his identity a secret.

Not exactly a fool's move, to be honest.

He should really give that man a raise. If only because the man, or Ultraman, could probably kill him and all his future reincarnations with a single attack. Even if he would never do it from what they'd seen.

Ironwood, on the other hand, was a complete mess inwardly, even if his composure never wavered. He was still reeling from his earlier argument with Qrow, for one. While he and the drunk Hunter never really saw eye-to-eye on most things, he had always thought they could agree on the general points – for example on how some secrets had to be kept even from friends.

Project PENNY was a… complicated matter to say the least. While he personally did support the secret project of building an army capable of blending in, it really wasn't with the intent of waging war against the other Kingdoms – the opposite! He wanted to use Aura-generating androids like Penny so that the Grimm could be fought more easily. Penny on her own could give _Qrow_ a run for his money in a fight, perhaps even win – with dozens of androids like her, Atlas would defeat the Grimm completely. Even Salem would find it hard to destroy Hunters as powerful as Penny.

Of course, the Council was another matter. While they agreed on not wanting another war, they didn't think Atlas should protect other Kingdoms from Grimm for free. They intended to offer the androids as mercenaries to the other Kingdoms so to create yet _another_ stable influx of money into their pockets. Not only that, but once the Kingdoms did start relying on the androids, Atlas would basically be able to become Remnant's true ruler.

Again, the Council didn't want war… but that didn't mean they didn't find the idea of ruling Remnant appealing. They thought themselves so high-and-mighty and they thought that they would do a much better job at ruling than anyone else. And again, taxes meant money and money was good for them.

Ironwood, if he had to be honest, loathed that side of his people, but he could appreciate the effectiveness of Project PENNY in a combat situation. Her crushing victory against Torchwick and the White Fang at the docks had been a clear indication of that. Grimm would stand no chance against androids like her, and thus maybe even Salem would eventually be defeated.

After all, it wasn't like she was immortal or something, right?

Qrow was having more or less the opposite train of thought as Ironwood. He loathed the existence of Project PENNY. Oh, he didn't have anything against the girl, if anything he pitied her for what had happened to her, but the simple fact those scientists had gone against Nature to create man-made Life just made him want to throw up everything in his stomach, and he had seen and lived through some pretty messed-up stuff.

How could they do that and still call themselves human beings? To recreate Life in a lab was playing Gods and desecrating Nature. He'd never been a fanatic of naturalism or particularly religious, but there were some things one just shouldn't mess with. It would've probably been better had they resurrected a corpse – at least it would've been human to begin with.

But that girl? As he said, he had nothing against her. He even respected her for being able to live through knowing she wasn't human, and was made as a mean to a goal not her own. But her very existence was proof that Atlas knew no limits or morals when it came to money and power, or anything that would eventually give them the aforementioned two.

Penny was confused by the hostility between Ironwood and Qrow – they should've been friends, as far as she knew. Perhaps not friends like she and Ruby were, but on friendly terms nonetheless, if not outright respect. She could not understand why her origins made them split apart so suddenly, and so violently.

The students, instead, were divided between two groups.

Blake and Weiss were currently thinking about Penny and how she came to this world. Like Qrow, they didn't hold it against her at all. But while Blake shared Qrow's horror regarding Project PENNY, Weiss found herself kind of agreeing with Ironwood. Not to Winter's extent, of course, but it made sense. Even if Atlas _did_ end up lording its power over the other Kingdoms and making them regions of a Remnant-wide Atlas, the Grimm would still be dealt with. Sure, the politicians of the other Kingdoms wouldn't like it, but Atlas's government was _by far_ the most efficient, the most skilled, the most knowledgeable, the one with more seats, and the one who could deal with problems the best. As for the civilians, it wouldn't matter for them what their Kingdom was called, getting rid of the Grimm would be too good to pass up.

What Weiss failed to take into consideration was, of course, that while yes, Atlas would indeed also help the other kingdoms technologically, they would become more or less like Mantle – not exactly in misery, but shunned by the 'higher-ups' of the economy, aka those who lived in Atlas.

Instead the other, much larger side of the students were trying to comfort Jaune and Pyrrha as much as they could. Ruby, Yang, Ren and Nora had, unfortunately, experience with loss of family, so they knew what the two of them were currently going through, one in fear for his sister and sister-in-law, and the other for her parents.

No words were said. They knew that things like _they're gonna be okay_ or _it's another universe_ wouldn't do much to help with their current panic attack. If anything, it might even make it worse once things took a bad turn. Their presence was the only comfort they could give, a silent closeness that meant _I'm here for you, and I'm not going anywhere_.

Bit by bit, the two of them managed to calm down – mostly thanks to Ruby, who oddly enough was the one to point out that it was just a projection and might not even be true or anything, which greatly helped the two distraught teens.

Yang had experienced helping grieving people, having been the one to fill Summer's spot when Ruby lost her mother. And she too was simply reassuring them that their families were safe. Their _real_ families.

Sun, Amber and Taiyang found themselves _extremely_ uncomfortable. While Amber knew Qrow, Ironwood, Ozpin and Goodwitch, she still wasn't used to seeing them act so… tensely hostile with each other. Qrow looked just about ready to grab Harbinger and start a fight. Winter had more or less the same expression, but with more an arrogant certainty of being in the right.

Now, Qrow wasn't _that_ old, but Winter was half his age – for her to be eager to fight him was just so Atlasian it really irked Amber. The difference in their training was so huge it wasn't even funny.

Taiyang, on the other hand, was worried. Still because of Qrow, but not because of the tension between him and the General. Qrow had never liked James Ironwood, declaring he was just a politician who thought his army could do anything while he only had a knack for fucking up people's plans when it was least convenient.

Sun just plain had no flipping idea what the hell was going on. He felt a bit sorry for his fellow male blue-eyed blond and his stunning redhead partner, but he wasn't exactly on friendly terms with them – not that they hated him or anything! It was more like they didn't really know him. Even Team RWBY barely knew him!

On the other hand, Raven was obviously uninterested and unimpressed by the show of human emotions from Jaune and Pyrrha, mostly since she totally lacked empathy herself, but she found herself observing Penny very intently.

She was a robot – that meant she had no will of her own, no actual soul. She had _a_ soul _stored_ in her body to act as a source of Aura – that didn't mean _she_ had one. It didn't mean it was _her_ soul. It was just a different kind of battery. She was just a robot that could be reprogrammed to act as her secret ace-up-the-sleeve. Even though she had no one in her tribe that actually had the software-programming skills to reform Penny's entire mindset into that of a battle-hardened warrior who obeyed her every order. It wasn't that hard to figure out how to capture her – in the end she was a naive, unaware, socially stumped little girl who had the mental capabilities of a 6 years old.

It was simply a matter of time before the opportunity arose and she could _snatch_ the girl away, _finally_ letting her use all her untapped potential against the unaware, worthless farmers and villagers of Anima so that her tribe could prosper. She had no idea how much her power actually was, but she was confident that if _Atlas_ made her as a walking weapon of mass destruction against Grimm _and_ the other Kingdoms, then it was something she _had_ to have. And with the gynoid, she would make the Branwen tribe invincible.

Unaware of the horrible, and quite arrogant, plans of the bandit queen, Winter was instead focused on the dispute happened between Qrow and Ironwood. She knew she was a little biased against Qrow, but even then she knew her current spite for the man had nothing to do with bias or personal dislike. No, this spite was entirely because of his actions and words in his discussion with General Ironwood.

Why couldn't Qrow understand that the world didn't revolve around him? That just because he thought himself, pardon her language, hot shit people wouldn't fall at his feet grovelling to get in his good graces? That being drunk didn't mean he was always right, or had the right to try and get involved in people's business?

Atlas had secret. Atlas's military had even more secrets. As drunk and stupid as he might've been, Winter had supposed even Qrow couldn't be stupid enough to think he was entitled to be told those secrets. And even then, even if he had actually been trustworthy (which he wasn't, _never_ would be), they were in a room full of children. Children who had no business sticking their snotty little noses into Atlas's military's top secret projects.

Now, Winter knew her temper could use some work. Every time she and Qrow met, he would bait her into starting a fight, and would thus be able to blame it all on her whenever the General broke the fight up. She knew what her weaknesses were, and she'd freely admit (to Ironwood, at least, not to many others) that her quick-to-anger attitude was one of those.

However…

However she felt that her short temper had nothing to do with the anger she was currently feeling. Qrow, and subtly so even Ozpin and Goodwitch, had been insulting Atlas as a whole without even trying to cover it up, plainly hinting at short-sightedness on their part. Qrow went as far as calling all Atlasians arrogant assholes who thought money was the essence of life and cared not for the lives of everyone else. He was borderline saying that Atlas would let hundreds of thousands people to die if it were to be profitable for them to do so. Which was absolutely false.

Winter knew her home kingdom didn't have the best reputation. While rich and technologically far more advanced than all the other kingdoms put together, Atlas was infamous for being the home of many so-called rich men whose only goal was to obtain as much money as they could, through any mean possible.

True, Atlasians did have some sort of racial pride or something. And many of its people did treasure money a lot and wished to increase their fortunes. But they were still people, and underneath the strict, law-abiding exterior they actually did care.

But not for those who shunned them because of their so-called 'bad reputation'.

Poor Winter didn't even realize just how close-minded her thoughts were.

The woman was a good older sister (in some cases, she was still horrible at greeting her little sister) even if she acted a tad too much like a drill sergeant even with Weiss, but her admiration for Ironwood and Atlas as a whole blinded her. A lot. So much so, that she found it hard to see the flaws in her home kingdom, be it in its politics or in its people.

And the bigger the flaw, the more she tried to ignore and justify it to keep her mental image of Atlas as perfect and immaculate as it could be.

Finally, after a tense quarter of hour spent in complete silence, the projectors glowed again, and the projection began once more.

**As the sounds of the Grimm roaring in the distance could be heard, our heroes were moving at top speed as they ran straight towards the city of Argus. Both of them quickly closing the distance they bad between where they had been on the hill to the city as they rushed in, ready to help whoever they can when they arrived.**

**Fortunately though, despite how bad things seemed, Penny told him that Argus was actually under the protection of an Atlas base that was constructed there to protect it from any Grimm incursions that popped up. Like right now for instance.**

"As I said, Argus is safe from Grimm attacks. The city's defences were actually made with Leviathans and other Titan-class Grimm in mind, specifically created to be able to fight massive Grimm and swarms of smaller ones at the same time," Ironwood spoke up, taking his mind off the Penny subject to inform everyone of Argus's security.

"Is it gonna be enough?" asked Penny. "It seems that the Atlasian soldiers are having trouble repelling the entire horde."

"It's gonna be just fine," Ironwood nodded. "Of course this does not mean no damage will come to the city or harm to the people, but it will be greatly reduced."

"That doesn't really reassure us, sir…" Ruby mumbled.

"It still is a Grimm invasion – they rarely die without taking something with them."

**Currently from what they could make out as they were getting closer to Argus the area above the Leviathan was currently a dog fight as an entire fleet of Atlesian Airships, who were currently attacking any of the smaller Grimm which Penny had classified as Griffons and Sphinx, and blasted them out of the Sky.**

**And the Leviathan Itself was currently engaging what appeared to be an equally massive robot!**

"Man that's one big robot," Sun commented, impressed. Ruby and Jaune would've both cheered and fanboyed/fangirled at the sight of a super robot, but both were still too worried about the people in Argus to do so.

"As expected from the Atlas military, we are efficient not only in the defence of our own kingdom, but in protecting any and all of our allies," Winter stated, or more like droned, in a voice that was eerily similar to Weiss's when she had read the 'Dust for Dummies' pamphlet to Ruby before Initiation. Could all Schnees do that?

Qrow almost died when he choked on his alcohol at hearing that. _'Where the fuck did that come from?!'_ he screamed in his mind.

**It was as tall as the Atlesian Military Base situated in Argus. It has a stocky build, with a rectangular cockpit and long, armored legs. Its left arm has a joint and a hand with two fingers and a thumb. Its right arm is a cannon with rotary slots, and a large blade is fitted to the back. All but one of the rotary slots in its right arm contains a form of Dust; the rotary slot without Dust is a missile pod.**

"Cool." Sun raised eight fingers of his hands. "Eight outta eleven. It's cool but it doesn't look all that great, and it doesn't seem to have any super-move or anything."

"Eight out of ten, you mean?" Ironwood asked, flattered by the compliment. True, he hadn't received max scores, but as Sun said it wasn't like the robot was very aesthetically pleasing to look upon. It wasn't its purpose. "And just so you know, it is equipped with a Dust generator that can create an energy shield all around it to protect it from even the strongest of attacks."

"Alright, nine outta eleven." He raised another finger. "As for who gets eleven, well that's when I raise my tail. But you seriously gotta impress me to get eleven outta eleven."

A few chuckled at the monkey Faunus's use for his tail and his carefree attitude.

**Penny classified it as a Colossus. A military grade battle mech created to fight off massive hoards of Grimm or Titan-Class Grimm like the Leviathan.**

**Currently though it would seem for the most part of the conflict, no side was getting an advantage over the other as both the Grimm and the Atlas forces battled each other fiercely. Which only made the two move quicker than they already were moving.**

"Not so invincible, huh, General?" Qrow grinned.

"Special Agent Cordovin is currently old enough to warrant retirement as a Huntress, yet she is fighting that monster on an even footing. Not even the world's most skilled Hunter could come close to that level of power," Ironwood bit back, internally smirking at Qrow's frown. "Atlas chooses not to rely on the powers of Hunters, who are extravagant at best, and downright unreliable at worst. We instead rely on trained and disciplined soldiers, and technology developed by the world's greatest minds."

Weiss and Winter both nodded, one more subtly than the other. It was true. Atlas was so powerful because they only relied on the most excellent and trustworthy of people. Both also winced. And then there was their father, who was neither. But they couldn't deny he did do a good job in gaining the monopoly of the Dust trade and becoming one of the world's richest and most influential men alive.

"Oh really?" Qrow snorted. "Alright, alright, Atlas is fine, but what about Mantle? Or all the other cities?"

"They are well-protected as well." However, this time Ironwood seemed less sure of his claim.

"Sure they are. Mantle doesn't even have functioning walls – the Grimm can reach right into the city whenever they want. And other cities… oh wait, I just remembered!" Qrow glared at Ironwood. "There _are_ no other cities in Atlas! Maybe because all the soldiers are always stationed in Atlas, and if someone living outside were to send a call for help, it would still take too long to save them from the Grimm!"

"Hunters aren't much different," Ironwood retorted. "Atlas just has more powerful Grimm than the other-"

"Oh please, Vacuo is a shithole with stupidly big monsters roaming the desert and next to no actual government, and yet it's still standing and actually does have more than one city," Qrow replied with a huff. "Hunters don't have to stay in one place. Their job is to kill Grimm and protect people – wherever they can, and whenever they can. Plus it's not as hard as it is in Atlas to get combat training. In Atlas, if you aren't a licensed instructor using licensed and government-approved training grounds, you can't even teach some guy how to swing a sword or fire a gun to defend himself! At least out of Atlas, nobody gives a damn as long as you do report what you've done. And even then, only if you take the training past a certain level. Basic defence lessons don't even have to be reported to the government!"

"And this brought you to have well-trained criminals who can disobey the law and escape safely instead of being apprehended!" Winter exclaimed with a scowl.

"Break it up, all of you!" Goodwitch yelled, creating a purple runic shield between the two. "Now it's not the time."

**"Got to say, when we where going to Argus i wasn't expecting to help save it as well!" Kotaro said as he sprinted across the landscape.**

**"We have to hurry!" Penny said as she was keeping up the pace with the Ultra, "while Argus is protected by an Atlesian forces they'll be to busy fighting the Leviathan than protecting the citizens from whatever smaller Grimm that break away from the battle to attack the city!"**

**"Then there's no time to waste, let's move!" and with that said the two bolted at top speed and entered the city. Prepared to fight off whatever came after the civilians as the battle in the cities waters raged on.**

"See Jaune, he made it in time!" Ruby exclaimed, pointing at the projection. "And with an Ultraman warrior defending the city, nothing could go wrong!"

"Yeah… you're right, Ruby," Jaune nodded, calming down, but only marginally. He stopped hyperventilating and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

* * *

**The City of Argus was a nice place to live. It was very well maintained and the community as very pleasant, it was all and all nice choice to pick out of if you wanted to settle down and have a family. And with the Argus Base keeping a watch out for Grimm it was relatively safe too.**

**All and all at the end of the day, it's a good place to live.**

**However this was not one of those days.**

**It had started off as a normal day earlier in the day. Everyone went about their normal routine and went about with their lives.**

**When suddenly later on in the day the Argus base sent off the alarm all across the city, and no sooner did it start blaring out a entire horde of Grimm came flying from the nearby forest and over the city. And to top it all off, they flew past the city and came flying towards a enormous Grimm that came bursting out of the ocean, and started heading towards the city.**

**The people panicked, and quickly began to head to the civilian shelters as the Argus base quickly mobilized against the creatures of Grimm.**

**Unfortunately some of the Grimm that were flying around during the conflict picked up on the negativity in the city. And roughly thirty of them, without any of their opposition knowing it, immediately broke away from the dogfight and dive-bombed directly towards Argus.**

Jaune immediately began to tense again, as well as Pyrrha.

Ruby nudged him again. "Taro's there! If he can fight Kaijus, he can definitely fight Grimm!"

Jaune nodded slowly. "Yeah… you're right. _You're right_, Ruby."

**The citizens ran for their lives. The Grimm came down and attacked at anything that move, and ripped apart anything in their way. And all the while the Atlas force where to busy fighting for their lives and against the Grimm in the ocean to pull away and help.**

**Amongst these civilians that were making a break for it as the Grimm chased them down was a blond woman and her child.**

"You're wrong, Ruby, you're wrong!" And Jaune was back to panicking after the Grimm began their rampage, and seeing his sister and his nephew in the chaos.

Ruby sighed. Pyrrha was still panicking. It seemed they wouldn't stop worrying until the very end, when Argus was actually saved.

**She was a beautiful young woman with wavy, dirty blond hair and blue eyes. She wears an orange top with a beige vest, light brown trousers with orange stitches on each side, and dark brown boots. In addition, she wears her wedding ring on her left hand and a bootlace necklace around her neck.**

**The child in her arms, who was a boy, was a rather cute infant with short black hair and brown eyes. He wears a white and blue long-sleeved shirt with denim overalls and white socks.**

All the women in the audience cooed at how amazingly adorable the little kid was.

"I want one!" both Yang and Weiss exclaimed at the same time.

Meanwhile, Qrow whistled to himself. _'Not a bad looker, the chick. Too bad she's married… and probably half my age anyway.'_

Jaune had the sudden, inexplicable and most powerful urge to grab Crocea Mors and shove it through Qrow's chest until the hilt came out from his back, and then burn the corpse at stake. He didn't know why, but it overpowered even his worry.

**And currently right now, much like everyone else, they were both running for their lives!**

**As the blonde woman ran as fast as she could while carrying her crying child in her arms, she darted around and got quick glimpses of debris and other things being launched at everyone as the Grimm continued to rampage after all of them. Ready to rip them apart when they get a hold of them, a fact which only made the blonde quickly pick up the pace in order to get away from those monsters.**

**But in her haste to get to safety and save her child, she tripped and fell to her side. Groaning as she slowly got up, she made sure her baby was safe, and fortunately he wasn't hurt from the fall.**

**But at that moment a loud roar got her attention and she quickly looked just in time to see a Sphinx baring down towards them!**

Scratch that, Jaune's worry was overpowering _everything_ else in his mind! Killing Qrow could wait forever for all he cared at the moment! If only he could reach out into the projection and do _something_!

Unbeknownst to him, his Aura began to flare wildly and violently, reacting to his desire to save his sister. He didn't notice, but everyone else in the room did, especially since given his large Aura reserves he looked like he'd just been engulfed in a rippling white shield of Aura, something that no one could do without the help of a Semblance.

_'Is that Jaune's Semblance? Already?'_ Pyrrha thought. She was one of the only four people in Beacon who knew Jaune didn't have his Aura unlocked before Initiation, and that he cheated his way into Beacon. The others were their two teammates, and Ruby, who Jaune had told after the whole thing with Cardin's blackmail had been over with.

Ren had reacted in a way no one had expected. He said that he hadn't had a very high opinion of Jaune's combat skills since the start of the year as he thought he'd had years to train and hadn't improved much, and that instead to survive Initiation, _successfully_, and survive Beacon's training, all of that untrained up until then, was far more deserving of his respect. It was then that he and Jaune officially became 'brothers'. Ren still refused to say 'bro'.

Nora had known already. How, nobody knew, but she just seemed to have some kind of supernatural knowledge at times. She'd just demanded for pancakes as punishment for lying to them. Pancakes and hugs, lots of pancakes and lots of hugs. She was a very touchy-feely person.

Ruby hadn't batted an eyelid either. She'd actually said something similar to Ren, on how it just made him passing even more impressive. And that it didn't take away from him being a good person! She also told him how she had actually gotten into Beacon by an act of vigilantism, so in the end they both got in due to crimes of some kind.

**Knowing that the creature was about to end their lives she held her baby close and closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the end to come in a form of fangs and claws.**

**But that moment!**

***SHNCK!* *CRASH!***

**Ever so slowly, after waiting a moment for their demise, did the blonde open her eyes. And much to her shock instead of seeing impending death, she saw the Grimm that was about to kill the both of them disintegrating as it's lifeless corpse was cur clean in half.**

"YES!" Everyone was startled when Jaune pumped a fist in the air, Aura flaring and flickering even more wildly and brightly. "TAKE THAT!"

"Well, he surely got out of his funk quickly…" Amber commented with a sweatdrop.

_'Tsk. If they are so weak to die by the claws of some Grimm, I see no reason to help them,'_ Raven snorted in her mind, knowing that speaking up would just cause everyone to start shouting, and it'd take forever to get back at the projection.

**And then she saw the one who saved their lives.**

**It was none other than Penny. The robot girl stood protectively in front of the two of them as she activated her weapon 'Floating Array' and had ten swords hovering around her elegantly. She then turned around to face the two of them and gave them a kind smile as she bent down on one knee, "hello miss, have sustained any injuries?" she asked.**

**Snapping out of thoughts she said, "o-oh uh, no we're alright."**

**With that Penny just smiled and stood up as she faced the horde of Grimm still heading their way.**

**"Good, and don't worry miss." she said as she crouched down and the swords hovering around her shifted into striking position.**

**"I'm combat ready!"**

**And like that that the ginger haired girl dashed forward at impossible speed! She came upon the first Grimm, a Griffon, and slammed into it with incredible force and speed and tackling the Grimm and slamming it into another Sphinx! When she knocked them to the ground she quickly jumped up and maneuvered her swords and sent them flying down and impaled the two Grimm in vital areas killing them instantly!**

**She then came down fast and hard onto another Sphinx, crushing its head instantly when she brought both her feet down on it upon impact, and then quickly bent backwards to dodge a swipe from another Sphinx that attempted to dive-bomb her. Acting quickly as she ducked the girl grasped two of her swords in her hands and impaled the monster before cutting it in half and backflipping onto her feet as the Grimm's severed body disintegrated behind her.**

**As she righted herself up, Penny got into a fighting stance as the other Grimm, who realized how much of a threat she was, all diverted their attention away from the fleeing civilians on to her. Giving the people of Argus a chance to escape.**

"Hell yeah!" Jaune cheered again, and this time Yang, Ruby and Nora all joined him in cheering for Penny, who felt her facial synthetic superficial components dramatically rise in temperature. This was of course made to replicate blushing whenever her Aura sent the appropriate signals.

Petro Polendina had seriously outdone himself this time.

Ironwood smiled. While he was still very unhappy about Penny being far from the Atlas military's protection, it could still be quite useful to observe the fight and take notes of Penny's current combat potential and how it could be improved.

Not like she needed improving anyway, he noted with a proud smile, since she was decimating the Grimm like they were flies, while even veteran Hunters like Qrow would have trouble fighting Sphinxes and Manticores. Griffons were laughable compared to the Northern species. Teryxes, Sabyrs, Megoliaths, Sentinels and so much more were native of Atlas, but even the more common species were stronger than their Southern counterparts, like the Ursai and the Geists. For Penny to be able to easily fend off Sphinxes and Manticores, it meant she could probably take on an entire team of professional Hunters with some difficultly. Unless they had Semblances that were especially dangerous versus androids and such.

Pyrrha withheld a sneeze.

Raven was interested too. Obviously, just to see if she could recruit her into her tribe, but still… she could adopt the gynoid. Yang was worthless compared to someone as skilled as Penny. And in time, she might even be able to break her mindset and convince her that being a pet warrior was and had always been her only role in the world. It would turn the Branwen Tribe into a force to be reckoned with, one even a kingdom would have trouble stopping.

**All the while the Blonde woman and her baby watched with awe and shock as this one girl decimated the Grimm so easily. Both of their eyes wide and jaws dropped. Both of them amazed by the incredible display of skill that she had.**

**However they was snapped out of their thoughts when a hand gently grabbed the blondes shoulder making her jump. She turned to see Kotaro bent down and giving her a smile as well "miss i suggest you evacuate now, it's not safe here," he said as he brandished some kind or advanced assault rifle that he was carrying. "Me and my partner can handle these beasts."**

**"Oh, Yes! Thank you!" the blonde woman said as she quickly got to her feet and dashed away, and giving him and Penny a silent thank you as she ran to safety.**

**Which left Kotaro and Penny alone with the Grimm.**

**Acting quickly Kotaro immediately pulled up his rifle and charged into the fray, popping off three of the Grimm that Penny was fighting. Taking notice of him several of the Grimm charged at him with the intent to kill. Only to be shot dead one after another.**

**When the final Grimm got close though it started swiping and snapping at Kotaro with its claws and fangs! But Kotaro dodge every strike before throwing his gun into the air and then delivered three powerful strikes to the Grimm's chest shattering its ribcage from the powerful blows. He then finished the Grimm off by lifting his foot up high and brought his heel down onto it's bone plated head, causing it to cave in from impact and killing it.**

"So cool!" Yang exclaimed. "I am _so_ learning how to use my legs in a fight! Then I can do that!"

**When the Grimm hit the ground he then caught his weapon and fired some shots at a Grimm that was about to pounce on Penny from behind and killing it. Penny looked behind her just in time to see Kotaro put himself behind her as the remaining Grimm surrounded them**

**"Okay Penny, Let's send these guys packing!" Kotaro said as he took aim.**

"But Grimm don't have any belongings to pack…" Penny said, confused.

**"But Grimm don't have any belongings to pack," said Penny as she glanced back to Kotaro confused.**

"It was a metaphor, Penny," Ironwood explained with a sigh.

**"That was a Metaphor Penny."**

"Oh, okay."

**"Oh, Okay!"**

Every single one of the students burst out laughing, with Qrow, Tai and Amber following them. The hilarious repetition seemed almost set up. Ironwood had a tick mark on his forehead, while poor little Penny was even more confused as of why everyone was laughing at what had been a perfectly normal explanation.

**And just like that the Grimm rushed at them! Both Kotaro and Penny were back to back with each other as Kotaro fired his rifle while Penny converted her swords into guns and started shooting at the monsters as well. The two of them dropping Grimm left and right as they fought side by side.**

* * *

**_Meanwhile._**

* * *

**Caroline Cordovin was considered many things.**

**A special operative, a fearless commander, a fanatical Atlas supporter, and the commander of the Argus base. Many things.**

"Ugh, if this turns out to be some kind of 'let's all kiss Atlas's ass' party, I'm outta here," Qrow groaned, gagging and retching at the mere thought of having to listen to some tightass chick far older than him showering Atlas in praise.

Winter growled in fury. "Then why don't you actually get out of here and free us of your insufferable presence?!" she provoked him, trying to keep her cool as much as she could. Not that she could ever keep her cool much when it came to Qrow Branwen.

Qrow, much to her fury, just stuck his tongue out at her.

**Right now though what she is at this moment, is someone fighting a Giant Grimm in an equally giant robot mech.**

**Things had started off normal at the Argus base for all it's staff. Everyone of the soldiers made sure everything was in order and all the equipment was well maintained. But then the communications systems radar picked up something, and before they knew it they were up to their necks with Grimm.**

**Acting quickly, all available staff and soldiers immediately went to their battle stations as pilots hopped in Atlesian ships and began firing at the flying Grimm from the air.**

**But while their firepower worked against the smaller Grimm, their weapons proved ineffective against the Leviathan.**

**Cordovin meanwhile decided to take on the Leviathan Grimm directly by piloting the Colossus battle mech that was stationed at the Argus base for emergencies such as this.**

**Also admittedly her pride wouldn't allow anything else if she wasn't inside the mech and fighting the Leviathan herself.**

Qrow snorted something terribly similar to "So Atlasian of her…"

**She still had the best intentions in mind though regardless.**

**By the time she managed to mobilize the Colossus the Leviathan had already taken out one of the three protective hard light force-fields that had been deployed in an attempt to slow it down. But the creature had proven it's might when it shot a powerful energy blast from its mouth. It only took a single shot for it to destroy the first wall.**

**Luckily Cordovin had arrived on time to stop the Grimm by firing a beam of ice dust from the rotary canon on its right arm. Taking the advantage of the now less maneuverable Grimm Cordovin took a running charge before slamming the Grimm to the ground. Which was rather impressive considering how much bigger the Grimm was to the Colossus.**

**Afterwards the giant robot then preceded to delivery punch after punch to the monster's face before the Grimm shook it off and got back to its feet, and then let out an angry roar at it's opponent.**

**From inside her cockpit Cordovin could only smirk, "HA! I will not be intimidated by you monster! I'll show you what the true might of Atlas is!"**

"I'm torn between wanting to see her lose and get her Atlasian-pride handed back to her with a thorough butt-kicking, or wanting to see her win to Argus's safe," Qrow mumbled.

"Only you would put your personal amusement over the safety and protection of thousands of people!" Winter snapped, disgusted by his behaviour.

Qrow, had it been anyone else, would've gotten _quite_ angry at that accusation. But Winter had her head so far up Atlas's ass he could only be amused by her attitude. It was one of the reasons why he loved to push her buttons so much.

**And so it went on like that for ten minutes now, both the large Grimm and the Battle-Mech delivering one blow after the other.**

**The Leviathan using it's larger size and deadly breath attack on multiple occasions. Along with using it's brute Strength in an attempt to destroy it's foe, swinging its tail with sudden twists at the mech, forcing Cordovin to duck out of the way. As well as block and dodge any strikes that the sea monster attempted to kill her with.**

**But Cordovin was managing to hold her own. Mostly thanks to the shielding and weapons systems that the Colossus came equipped with and let out barrage after barrage of missiles at the beast and fired different types of dust blasts from the arm cannon, before deciding to move in close.**

**As the two charged each other again, the Colossus's left hand suddenly shifted into a drill and tore a large gash in the Leviathans side as soon as they closed the distance.**

**The Massive Grimm let out a cry of pain as it jumped back, it's wound letting off pitch black smoke as it growled out in a mixture of pain and anger. And all the while Cordovin could be heard laughing from the speakers installed in the giant mech.**

"Fuck that little Grimm bitch up!" Amber exclaimed excitedly, before shrinking down in embarrassment when everyone turned to look at her in shock.

_'She didn't look the type to swear…'_ a lot of the students though.

_'Too bad. I like well-behaved girls better – I'm a bad boy enough for two,'_ Qrow thought with a hum.

_'I can just tell, Qrow's thinking something about women,'_ Taiyang thought, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing in annoyance.

_'Dammit, Tai is thinking! Don't you dare get _another_ one, you womanising bastard!'_ Qrow shouted in his mind.

* * *

**Meanwhile inside the base things were going on much differently than you would think in a situation like this.**

**For starters instead of doing their job, the remaining staff inside the communications tower were all gathered around the open window watching the two giants fighting each other like it was some kind of wrestling match.**

**"Do you see now beast?" Cordovin's voice spoke through the communications system, "Surely some where in that primitive mind of yours you can see the might that our glorious kingdom can offer yes?!" she declared with pride in her voice.**

**The soldiers watching whooped and hollered at the declaration as they cheered their commander on as she battled the leviathan.**

**However as they watched the battle outside like some kind of show, they failed to notice something.**

**Not five feet away from them was the communications radar. And as its sonar kept itself in operation, two new and very big blips appeared on the screen.**

Everyone facepalmed, even Ironwood and Winter.

"Just how dumb can they be?!" Goodwitch exclaimed, shocked at how stupid Atlas's so-called _trained soldiers_ could be. "They are just looking like it's a match of the Vytal Festival Tournament!"

Ironwood tried to hide his face behind his hands and made a note to fire Argus's entire military staff, aside from Special Agent Cordovin.

Ruby sighed as Jaune and Pyrrha went back into worried mode.

* * *

**Back at the fight it would seem that the battle was about to reach a conclusion. The Atlas ships were mopping up what was left of the Flying Grimm and Cordovin was about to deliver the final blow. Her mech charging up one final shot as she took aim at the Leviathan.**

**"I Admit, for a Grimm you fought well" She said as the targeting system locked on to its target, "But we all must go eventually."**

**And like that the Colossus raised up its canon arm, the chamber already charging up with dust.**

**The soldiers and any civilians who were not in the shelters all watched cheering as the danger that had been threatening them was about to come to and end.**

**Or so they thought.**

**Because at that moment, just as the final shot was about to be fired something burst straight out of the water and slammed into the Colossus, tackling it to the ground!**

"Another Leviathan?" Ruby wondered, trying to get a glimpse of the new opponent that just entered the fray.

"Odd, Leviathans usually don't wander in packs," Penny commented. "Perhaps is it some other kind of Titan-class Grimm native of the ocean between Atlas and Mistral. Kraken and Maelstrom are both not options as they do not move so fast and use their long limbs to attack their prey." Then she paled. "Perhaps it is a Ningen…"

"A Ningen?" Weiss repeated. "I've never heard of this Grimm before."

"A Ningen is a gigantic sea creature. Just its torso is as big as the Leviathan. But it never comes close to the shore as it is extremely slow out of the water, only good for short bursts of speed. If you are in possess of weapons with extremely high firepower, a Ningen isn't very difficult to defeat as it does not have any fast attacks. But it can destroy almost anything in just a single hit. It has an Energy Mouth Beam like the Leviathan's, and also a Freezing Mouth Beam it can keep up almost indefinitely. Both attacks are as slow as the Ningen, however."

Everyone paled at a creature as big as this new 'Ningen'.

"That's one scary Grimm…" Ruby mumbled.

**And what it was could only be described as a monster in every sense of the word.**

**It was a sea monster. Over 68m in height though it seemed to stand hunched over. It's appearance was something akin to a massive green fish-like reptile creature that stood up bipedal on two legs. Its arms which had fins on them ended with webbed clawed hands, and its webbed feet ended in claws as well. The head was like that of an actual fish and had a head fin on it, and its mouth had red lips and was filled with sharp razor fangs. Its body was also covered in spines like that of a porcupine. But the most striking feature were its piercing yellow eyes.**

"WHAT?!" everyone shouted in shock.

"Is that a… Kaiju?!" Blake exclaimed, flabbergasted at seeing one of those monsters in their world, and so close to the city too!

"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodohmy-" Jaune began to hyperventilate once again, this time more violently than the last, knowing that as strong as the Atlas Colossus was, Kaijus could destroy _planets_!

"Come on, Taro, kick its butt!" Yang yelled.

"Perhaps he isn't as strong as you believe and he cannot fight nearly as well as a Hunter," Raven sneered with a mocking laugh.

"As much as I hate to agree with the likes of her, Taro might've lost a lot of his power coming to Remnant. Normally, Ultramen were shown to be basically as large as Kaijus, while Taro is now human-sized," Goodwitch reasoned. "However not all hope is lost. Taro was trained by that _Ultraking_."

"_Ultraman King_," Ruby corrected automatically, causing Weiss to roll her eyes beside her.

**And from where they were in the city, Kotaro and Penny, who had dispatched the Grimm they were fighting, looked on in shock as the monstrous sea creature pinned the Colossus to the ground and let out a guttural aquatic roar.**

**"What is that creature?!" Penny exclaimed in shock, quickly searching through her database for any information on the sea monster. Only to come up with nothing in her records on what it was.**

**Kotaro meanwhile had adopted a shocked look at what he was seeing. The Ultra hardly believing what he saw as It was impossible, and yet there it was right in Argus' waters.**

**But soon enough he began to adopt a more serious look as he stared at the monster, "That Penny is King Guesra. A Kaiju!"**

* * *

**_Kaiju Analyzer_**

**_Sea Monster Kaiju King Guesra_**

**_Tier: Mid Tier 2_**

**_This Kaiju is actually a subspecies of the original Guesra Kaiju, and it is no doubt much stronger as well._**

**_Originally, the Guesra was a Brazilian lizard species whose purpose is to scare off pests from interrupting cacao beans. However one Guesra egg accidentally carried along into a delivery cacao ship by accident. As Guesra hatched, it felled into the local ports sea waters, which at that time was polluted, and mutated it into a giant monster. And the creature grew bigger over time and developed into an entire species of amphibious Kaiju._**

**_When fighting this Kaiju one must beware of its _****_Shocking Venom_****_attack that is generated from its barb-like spines._**

**_If one is to truly any damage to the Kaiju, it is recommended to destroy the fin on King Guesra's head. The fin is the source of the monsters venom, and destroying or removing it can not only cause great pain but may also kill the monster as well._**

"Then somebody cut the fin off!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"They are not aware of its weakness, Friend Pyrrha," Penny stated sadly.

"She's right, that info panel was like in comics, only we could see it," Ruby nodded, for once not an ounce of cheer in her voice while talking about comics.

* * *

**Penny looked to Kotaro with shock written all over her face. She remembered all the things that the Ultra had described to her about Kaiju before. But this was the first time in her life that she'd ever seen one.**

**Clearly the tales weren't enough to describe these creatures.**

**Another roar caught the two's attention as they looked back to the battle, and both of them could only watch as King Guesra clamped down on the Colossuses arm-cannon with its fangs. And in one jerking motion ripped the entire arm off it's socket before crushing it in it's jaws with a loud metallic crunch.**

**But the Kaiju wasn't done yet! Because as it spat out the destroyed limb it then grabbed the damaged mech in it's webbed hands and picked it up over its head! roaring all the while as it threw the battle-mech.**

**The mech was sent flying as it crashed into Argus base with a resonating boom. Before it laid motionlessly on its side sparking from the damaged inflicted on it.**

**Seeing its prey not getting up King Guesra let out a roar of victory.**

"Of fucking course Kaijus and Grimm got along just great in their shared hobby of destroying every fucking thing around!" Yang shouted, eyes turning red and hair lighting on fire. "Why does it have to be always the same crappy thing everywhere! Why all fucking villains _always_ join forces!"

Ruby could only shrug weakly. It was true, in a lot of her comics as well as the anime Yang watched, every time a new evil was revealed, it would ally themselves with the current evil and become even stronger. It was like everything in the world was out to get the main character.

The worst thing was that, in her comics, the main character usually lost the first time a new enemy entered the fray. And if that happened, then Argus was doomed.

Raven, meanwhile, was unimpressed. _'That thing might be able to sprint, but otherwise it's not fast. I could sever its fin without many problems, plus my Dust blades can have a dozen different effects, as opposite to its one-way brutish attacks. And even if I were to be unable to harm it, it still wouldn't be able to catch me thanks to my Semblance. But I suppose not everyone can be as strong as me. And as always, those who are weak are culled by the stronger species.'_

Ironwood was sweating. Argus might not have been in Atlas, but it was still a city he cared about. And with the power Kaijus had demonstrated earlier, then the city was doomed.

**"Kotaro what do we do? If that monster monster makes it into the City...!" Penny said as her mind already calculated the damage the sea monster would do if it got pass the barriers, and the already existing damage percentage already went up by two-hundred percent.**

**And if the defeat of the Colossus was anything to go by, the remaining forces wouldn't stand a chance.**

**However before Kotaro could respond another all to familiar roar caught everyone's attention.**

**It was the Leviathan! The massive sea Grimm let out another shriek as it stared down King Guesra. The Kaiju suddenly shifted it's attention to the Grimm before letting out a roar of its own at the creature of darkness. Both of them looked like they were getting ready to rip each other apart.**

Yang calmed down, but just fractionally. The Leviathan itself would've been more than enough to seriously damage the city. Even if the Kaiju killed it, it just meant the entire city was gonna be destroyed by the Kaiju instead of by both sea monsters.

**"Are they going to fight each other?" Penny asked, naturally though this didn't come off as much as a surprise to either of them.**

**From what she knew of Grimm was that despite their natural destructive nature, they still acted like most natural wildlife in terms of instincts. The Leviathan possibly saw the Kaiju as a invasive species encroaching on its territory.**

**Suddenly the Leviathan charged forward, seemingly ignoring its own injuries as it charged King Guesra with a loud shriek. And King Guesra charged as well in turn, quickly closing the distance with it's new foe. But before they two could collide, something else came shrieking out if the water!**

**Before the Leviathan could even react it was blindsided when something massive burst out of the water and sucker punched it. The force of the blow was so great it sent the wounded Grimm crashing to the ground.**

**And much to everyone who witnessed the sudden surprise attack shock, the assailant was another Kaiju!**

**Much Like King Guesra it was also some kind of sea monster. But that's where the similarities ended. It was over 48m in height. And running across its body where yellow fins from its legs, to its back, and also three on its head acting like a segmented crest. its arms which where fin-like as well as its feet ended in sharp claws. And there where blue marks all across areas of its body. its mouth was long and needle like and at the tip of both the top and lower jaw was a single fang. And its eyes were burning red.**

"Fucking fuck you!" This time, Qrow joined Yang in cursing out at the projection. "You fucker- Fuck that shit- don't fucking know when- what are the fucking- to fucking quit it with- chances of two fucking Kaijus- all your fucking bullshit!- popping the fuck up out of fucking nowhere!"

Normally, Weiss and Winter, respectively, would've been outraged by such a show of utter vulgarity (though not the creative type as, eventually, they just kept repeating 'fuck' or 'fucking') from the two red-eyed Hunters, but for once they let it go. It was kinda called for.

Jaune was currently biting his fingernails in worry.

* * *

**_Kaiju Analyzer_**

**_Giant-fish Monster Kaiju Zoa Muruchi_**

**_Tier: Mid Tier 2_**

**_This Aquatic Kaiju is known for its incredibly fierce and aggressive nature. So much so that other races in the universe have been known to capture them and use them for intergalactic attack beasts, releasing them onto an unsuspecting world and letting them wreak havoc wherever they're released._**

**_Strong and fiercely temperamental, this Kaiju is not to be trifled with. Its most dangerous ability is its _****_Energy Beam_****_attack, a powerful missile-strength heat beam fired from its mouth._**

Once more, Raven just shrugged. She could get out of any situation, be it a fight or a conversation with Qrow, without breaking a sweat. Her strength also laid in her ability to choose which battles were worth fighting for. Staying with her former husband and daughter? Not worth it. Keeping the Spring Maiden's powers despite the fact Salem could go after her? Definitely worth it. Fighting Salem alongside Ozpin and his Inner Circle? She didn't get much out of that, so no, she'd let them do the fighting while she chose different battles. Raiding a nearby village? Definitely worth, and very easy too.

As she said, she chose her battles carefully. It was a great strength of hers. One very few of those naive students could understand, much less possess.

* * *

**Zoa Muruchi let out a fierce shriek like roar as if attacked the Leviathan. The fish Kaiju brutally and ferociously beating the massive Grimm into the ground as it attacked.**

**King Guesra meanwhile was surprised by this sudden intervention, however its surprise soon shifted to anger when a barrage of missiles struck it from behind. Whirling around with an angry cry it looked up to see the remaining Atlas forces in their ships gunning down towards it, firing everything they had left at the monster in a last ditch effort to defeat them.**

**On their approach though, King Guesra suddenly let out a loud roar as the spines across its body began to crackle and surge with electricity. And fired its Shocking Venom attack at them. The spines shot forward like machine gun bullets, each one electrified with thousands of volts as they flew outward. The Soldiers barely had time to pull away from the hail fire of giant spines. Others weren't so lucky as they were hit and ejected from their exploding ships.**

"Let me guess, the two Kaijus work together…" Weiss commented.

**Back with the battle with the Leviathan and Zoa Muruchi, the Kaiju was effortlessly besting the wounded Grimm. Delivering blow for blow with its fin-like arms before suddenly twisting around and slammed its tail into the side of the Grimm's head, knocking it to the ground. And when the massive Grimm hit the ground Zoa Muruchi began to charge up its deadly Energy Beam. And then it fired it at the Leviathan, killing the Grimm as it exploded from impact.**

**Both monsters let out their own roars of victory from the defeat of their foes. But then they both suddenly shifted their attention to Argus. And then began making there way straight over to the city.**

"One time, one time I don't want to be right, but of course I have to end up being perfectly correct," the heiress sighed, shaking her head.

Jaune, who had by now finished his fingernails, grabbed Ruby's hands and started biting hers instead, much to the poor girl's confusion.

The only reason Pyrrha wasn't doing the same, was because of her extensive training. But if she had to be honest, she'd never been one to bite her nails. More like starting to train obsessively. Too bad she couldn't just drop and start doing push-ups now…

**And this was all that was needed for Kotaro to spring into action.**

**"Penny stay here." He said as he handed her his gun. And then take off into a sprint straight towards the two Kaiju.**

**"Wait Kotaro! Where are you going?" Penny cried out to him.**

**"Someone has to stop those monsters from destroying Argus!" he cried back to her "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!"**

**And like that he ran off. Heading straight towards the two monsters with the intent to stop them.**

**At that point, Penny just watched as her first friend went rushing ahead straight towards the monsters. A worried look coming across her face as she clutched her hands together, "Please come back safely."**

* * *

**Kotaro kept running until he had gotten a good distance near the shoreline of the city, glaring down the two approaching Kaiju as they stomped their way towards the city.**

**And for a brief moment, the badge on his arm flashed and shined.**

**With a determined look in his eyes, Kotaro pulled off his badge and raised it up high. And cried out only one name!**

**"TARO!"**

***Cue Ultraman Taro rise and theme here***

**_Taro! Ultraman Number 6!_**

**Everything seemed to go dark for a brief moment, before an eruption of light appeared! And rising from the light, his hand stretched upward reaching out, Was Ultraman Taro!**

"Kick its scaly fishy ass/butt!" Yang and Ruby shouted together, pumping their fists in the air.

Weiss frowned. "Is he… getting bigger?"

Yang grinned at her and wiggled her eyebrows. "Wouldn't you like to know that?"

Quickly turning red, the heiress shrieked in embarrassment and outrage before creating a large icicle and throwing it at Yang, who just dodged it with a laugh. Unfortunately, this meant the icicle landed right on Jaune.

Oddly enough, perhaps because of the wild inferno of white Aura that surrounded him, he didn't even seem to register the hit. Instead, the icicle shattered in impact.

_'Is that dolt's Semblance a shield of some kind?'_ Weiss wondered with a small frown. Now, don't get her wrong, there were many kinds of Semblances and all of them could be useful. But to be honest, a shield Semblance didn't really do much to increase the respect she had for the leader of the team she was kind of friends with. Said respect was very low anyway, and would probably remain so for quite a while.

**The Ultra flew upward into the air! Then in a quick series of movements, he performed various spins and flips before shooting forward with his foot stretched out and delivered his famous Swallow Kick. Hitting Zoa Muruchi straight in the head and knocking the monster down before rolling away and getting to his feet.**

**And as the the two Kaiju quickly began to face their new foe, Taro got into his signature fighting stance, Ready to battle.**

* * *

_**Ultra Analyzer**_

**_Ultraman Taro._**

**_Subtitle: Ultraman Number 6_**

**_Ultra level: 7_**

**_Born from both the supreme commanders of the Spade Garrison. Ultra Father and Ultra Mother, or by their real names Ken and Marie, Taro has shown to have great and vast potential to become the most powerful Ultraman ever._**

**_A noticeable feature about him are his Ultra Horns which he inherited from his father. This special horns help and allow Taro to control, absorb, and harness practically a limitless amount of power and energy, something that helps him vastly with his already monstrous strength and power._**

**_One of his most signature moves is his Storium Ray._**

* * *

**Meanwhile with Penny, who had been helping any other civilians get to safety, the Gynoid couldn't help but feel stunned by seeing her friends true form.**

**His body was red and silver in color along with a silver head, with a pair of horns and a fin-like crest. his uper torso had a form of protective armor, with a glowing blue gem in the center of his chest. And his eyes where gold much like the rest of his species. finally he had some kind of crown like brace on his left wrist and a flowing white mantle resembling a scarf.**

**Penny felt amazed by her friends actual appearance. And from what her sensors were telling her his whole body generated incredible power. It was incredible!**

**Though she had to admit that Taro neglected to tell her how big his race was. Considering the Ultraman was over 53m in height.**

"Fucking awesome!" Yang screamed in excitement, jumping up and down as Taro's real form was shown. "Get fucked, you assholes!"

"Yang! Language!" This time, Weiss _did_ reprimand Yang, since she didn't have a reason to swear any more.

"Oh, chill down, Weiss-Cream, you don't need to shout so much. Or maybe you should warm up, since you're such an Ice Queen…" Yang grinned at her, fully aware that she'd just screamed much louder than the heiress.

The heiress too was aware of that, if the growing tick mark on her forehead was any indication. "Stop calling me that!"

"What? Weiss-Cream or Ice Queen?"

"Both!"

Yang faked a confused frown. "But I never called you 'both' before."

"You just did!"

"I called you Weiss-Cream and Ice Queen. Never both."

Weiss screamed in frustration.

"Shh, I'm trying to watch the movie!" This time, the giant ice boulder did not miss its mark.

**She was snapped out of her awed shock from another roar from the Kaiju, the two giant monsters suddenly charging forward with the intent of ripping apart their new opponent. But Taro charged forward at incredible speed and slammed into Zoa Muruchi. He then Quickly grasped the monster in a tight grip before Judo-throwing the beast over his shoulder. The fish Kaiju hit the ground hard as it was thrown a good distance from the throw.**

**_There's the Father of Ultra!_**

**_There's the Mother of Ultra!_**

**_And here before us stands Taro!_**

**Taro quickly turned to face King Guesra. He quicly dodged and blocked some strikes that the monster attempted to hit him with. And then he retaliated by delivering two haymakers to each side of the monsters head causing it to stagger back, and then jumped up before delivering a powerful karate chop to the monsters shoulder. The impact was so fast and quick the friction actually generated sparks, and King Guesra let out a roar of pain.**

**_Look to the sky, look to the stars, look to the cosmos!_**

**_Behold the red flame shooting towards us!_**

**Suddenly Zoa Muruchi came charging up from behind. But as the beast closed the distance from the Ultra, Taro the quickly delivered a torrent of machine gun punches to the monster. But Zoa Muruchi managed to stop the torrent of punches before delivering some powerful blows to Taro's chest. But the strikes didn't even faze the Ultra before he delivered another torrent of machine gun blows, and then sent the Kaiju sprawling to the ground he he gave it one last hard punch to the face.**

"Yeah!" "Take that!" "Go Taro!" "Go Prof 2.0!" No wonder who that last one was, obviously, only Yang would call him that. "Beat those assholes into the ground!" "Fuck them up!" "Qrow!" "Jeez, sorry. _Bang_ them up!" "QROW!"

Needless to say, everyone was pretty happy to see the monsters getting some well-deserved, old-fashioned, very thorough butt-kicking! Except for Raven, obviously.

The black-haired _[appellative rejected]_ of one, and well-known to be quite a _[censored]_, was getting frustrated. Taro seemed to be perfect in everything he did, which was obviously a diamond-hard pill to swallow for her, so used to believe she was superior in every aspect to… just about everyone. She could admit some people did better than her in some fields – for example she was sure Goodwitch was more knowledgeable than her in a lot of topics, and she acknowledged that Qrow could hold his alcohol better than she did, and that Ironwood had more influence than her. But eventually, she had never admitted anyone could be stronger than her in combat, and she had never been outclassed by _this_ much.

It was pissing her off. Denial was the first stage, after all. Then came despair.

**But then King Guesra suddenly tackled the Ultra to the ground! The two then began rolling around as they both tried to pin each other. However Taro soon found himself pinned by the monster and had to quickly move his head to dodge every time the Kaiju tried to take a bite out of him.**

**_When the World is threatened_**

**_The badge on his arm will shine bright!_**

**_Taro takes to the skies!_**

**_Taro fights to save our lives!_**

**But Taro was quick to get the monster off him when he managed to get his legs free and plant both feet on the monsters stomach before giving a powerful push. Sending King Guesra flying with one good shove.**

**Then he twisted around and delivered a powerful kick to Zoa Muruchi's throat when the Kaiju came charging at him again.**

**_Taro, Taro, Taro!_**

**_Ultraman Taro!_**

**Now extremely angry from all the hits its been getting, Zoa Muruchi began to charge up its Energy Beam. And on the other side of him, Taro noticed King Guesra charging up its own Shocking Venom attack. The spines crackling with electricity as it prepared to fire.**

**Taking notice on how both Kaiju had surrounded him Taro acted fast and did the only thing that came to mind.**

**He Jumped!**

**And not a moment too soon, for as soon as he jumped upward the two Kaiju shot out their attacks and completely missed him. And ended up hitting each other instead. Both monsters letting out shrieks of pain.**

**_The Father of Ultra has come to us,_**

**_The Mother of Ultra has come to us,_**

**_And now Taro has come to save us!_**

**As Taro landed on his feet he immediately rushed forward to his opponents.**

**It was time to end this.**

While the students cheered and laughed at how Taro had not just avoided their attacks, but allowed them to hit each other anime-style, General Ironwood had a much different thought process.

Taro was skilled. That much was obvious to anyone with a single working neuron in their brain. But it was beyond that – Taro was skilled beyond anything Remnant had ever seen. He could easily defeat dozens of Hunters on Qrow's level. The Ace-Ops were jokes compared to him, and they were Atlas's top fighters. Even if Winter inherited the Winter Maiden's powers, and teamed up with Penny, the two of them combined would be easily dealt with by Taro.

Simply put, Taro was currently the strongest entity in the entirety of Remnant. He could probably kill Salem with his pinky finger, if he was effortlessly defeating two Kaijus that on their own could destroy planets like that _'Kaiju Analyser'_ or whatever had stated.

If he could get Taro on Atlas's side, nothing would be able to oppose the Northern Kingdom. Not Grimm, or criminals like Torchwick or the White Fang, not Atlas-haters like Qrow, or anyone else. Remnant could be brought together under Atlas's banner and live in harmony as one single kingdom.

Ironwood was very well-read, especially when it came to history. He knew the Great War had ended when the King of Vale destroyed all the kingdom's armies. Quite frankly, even if he disliked the violent methods, he was charmed by how efficient it was. Give them no chances of fighting back, and once you have full control over them, you can improve their lives. Like the King of Vale stopped the war, formed the Academies and the Councils, and overall improved Remnant's governments as a whole.

With Taro on his side, he could do all of that and more. There was literally no limit for what could be. The possibilities were endless.

**He quickly rushed up to King Guesra and delivered more powerful kicks and punches to the creature. Before delivering a powerful uppercut. Finally he grabbed the one thing that would truly cause some serious damage to the beast. He grabbed its head fin and with one quick yank ripped it right off the monster's head, electing a shriek of agony from the monster.**

**King Guesra continued to cry out in pain and Taro watched as it began to slowly sink into the water. Before long the sounds of roars from the monster soon vanished. As its lifeless corpse began to sink into the bottom.**

"One down, one more to go!" Yang cried out excitedly.

This time, Jaune joined in on their cheers, the white inferno of Aura quickly dying down alongside his rampant emotions. "Kick its butt!" he and Ruby shouted at the same time before looking at each other in shock, and bursting out laughing.

Pyrrha smiled, letting her worry diminish a little, but her family still hadn't been shown to be among the survivors, so she still had a cold feeling in her heart.

**_What is that? Is that our enemy? What could it be?!_**

**_These mysterious invaders are attacking our home!_**

**Now with one enemy defeated Taro quickly delivered his Attention back to Zoa Muruchi. The Ultra proceeded to run forward and jump up and deliver a powerful chop to the monsters head and raked it down the middle. Staring sparks as it went.**

**He then began to perform various spin punches, dishing out three of them before performing a roundhouse kick to the monsters side and knocking it down once again. Not done yet Taro quickly rushed up and grabbed the Kaiju before lifting it above his head with incredible ease and threw it. It's massive body making a loud boom as it fell and hit the ground**

**_When he needs power to keep us safe,_**

**_The badge on his arm will shine bright!_**

**And as the Kaiju staggered staggered to its feet, Taro decided to finish this here and now.**

**_Taro takes to the skies!_**

**_Taro fights to save our lives!_**

**_Taro, Taro, Taro!_**

**_Ultraman Taro!_**

**Raising his Right hand above him, his hand shined and flashed for a breath moment as he laced his left hand with his right. Then he closed his hands into fist as he brought his arms down and tucked them tightly to his side. As his whole body shined and glowed briefly with rainbow colored energy as power seem to flow in and out of him.**

**And as he brought his arms up with his right hand placed flat against his left knuckle, bringing his arms into a T shape, He cried out only one thing.**

**"Storium Ray!"**

**And a Powerful beam of rainbow colored energy shot out of his arms!**

**The Ray blast shot forward with such incredible power it actually created shockwaves and rended the seas as it shot forward! And as the attack struck Zoa Muruchi the monster didn't even have time to scream as it outright exploded!**

The students exploded as well, but in cheer instead of energy and bloody bits.

"Fuck yes!" Yang screamed, hair alight in her excitement.

"Whoooohoooo!" Nora whooped and hollered, hugging Ren and swinging him around like a doll. Not that he particularly minded given he was cheering as well, but Nora was very strong and could spin very fast, which meant he was kind of starting to feel sick and turn green.

"N-Nora…"

Only to be completely ignored as the carrottop continued to cheer carefree.

Qrow laughed as well, drinking to Taro's health. Though to be honest he didn't really need a reason to drink anyway, he just drank. All the time. This was just one little extra as celebration, from his _other_ flask. The one he would never ever show Yang.

Ozpin smiled. He'd been silent -and if he had to be honest, worried- for the entirety of this projecting session. Now he was sure he'd need to talk with the laudable Professor Kotaro Higashi of their own worlds. Who knew what secrets he might unfold…

Once again, back in Remnant, one Kotaro Higashi felt another shiver run down his spine. This time it was a 'Ozpin has his sights on me' type of shiver. He still hadn't discovered how he could have such precise feelings of dread, even after a long and exhausting search on the Remnet.

**And just like that. The battle for Argus was over.**

**Taro's posture relaxed with the battle's end. The Ultra more than glad that the battle was over and Argus and its people where safe.**

**However at that moment something caught the Ultras attention, a loud sound coming from behind him. He turned around to see what it was and was mildly surprised by what he saw next.**

**The sound he was hearing was cheering! Everyone in Argus had come out from where they managed to escape the Grimm and had all begun to cheer out to him. All of them showing their appreciation for him for saving their lives.**

**To that Taro just nodded to them. And he looked up before "Shuwatch!" he took off into the air. Leaving just as mysteriously as he came as he flew up into the distance. Before completely disappearing from sight.**

As the students came down from their high, Ironwood continued to analyse Taro.

He was too much of a wild soul to be trained into the strictness of an Atlasian officer. Trying to do that would only result in him leaving Atlas altogether, perhaps even in a grudge. And Ironwood surely did not want to anger a being that had just destroyed the two Kaijus with little to no problems at all, saving an entire city. Because as easily as he could save a city, he could destroy it just as easily. Perhaps even more so, since the city defences were obviously much less of a challenge than two Kaijus ranked as _Mid-Tier 2_, whatever that meant. Especially when Taro was a _Tier 7_.

Instead, Taro could be used to _train_ new soldiers instead of becoming one himself. If he were to train them to even just a thousandth of his current power level, they would still be exceptional Hunters unmatched by anyone in the Kingdoms. Atlas could still become the supreme kingdom in terms of… well, everything. And since Taro had been sent to Remnant to rid it of evil, Ironwood believed he would also disappear once the great evil he was looking for was destroyed.

As well, Raven was also thinking about Taro's power. She wanted him in her tribe. At any cost. He would be a far too valuable resource to be let go to waste. She had to find a way to get him on their side, and quickly. She'd caught a few hints, and she believed that Taro existed in their world as well, but had simply kept his actions more of a secret than the one in the projection she was watching. If she could find him, preferable before Ozpin, Qrow or Ironwood misled him into thinking of her as an enemy he had to destroy, then she would be able to recruit him, and then the Branwen Tribe would become the strongest organisation in all of Remnant.

That was definitely something she wanted to see happening, no matter what. To have the power to do whatever she wanted with no repercussions was one thing, but to have the power to force the entire world on their feet, unable to do anything but accept that her word was law and there was nothing they could possibly hope of doing to stop her, was something else entirely. A victory against the enemy was sweet, but crushing them with no hope for them to fight again was something _much_ better. She was no monster when it came to make others suffering. She just didn't care enough to actually waste time inflicting more pain that it was necessary. However, she did like the idea of being unstoppable. Even Salem herself wouldn't be able to show her face without being disintegrated, much less actually managing to harm her.

All she needed to do was to get Taro on her side. And she had quite a few ideas already.

The first would be to seduce him. Men were still men, after all, no matter what planet they came from. She was confident she had one of the best figures there were, body-wise. And her beauty was nothing to scoff at, either. Yang was just a cheap rip-off of her, and yet she risked drowning in the sea of propositions and fans of both genders. Raven knew she could have a man's heart in her palm as easily as she could kill that man with her sword. Taro wouldn't be much different from Taiyang. Both wanted to do good, and both had carefree, cheerful attitudes that could turn serious at a moment's notice. And both had the annoying habit of giving out advice.

The second method was just as simple as the first: she could very simply convince him to join them. As 'good' as he was, power corrupts the soul and she knew few people could resist the temptation of complete control over anything they wanted. Not just that, but she could convince that by destroying all opposition, he would be free to do as he wished with the world – including making it better. It might've been a peace brought with a rifle in hand, but it was still peace. Raven could use that against him.

The third, and the one she least wanted to use, was simple blackmail. Take something or someone he cared a lot about, threaten it, and force him into her tribe against his wishes. Of course, she loathed to do that. Not because she cared about him or his loved ones, but because servants brought to their knees by force usually tried their hardest to break their chains and get revenge. While she was confident Taro would never be able to catch _her_, her tribe was another matter altogether. And her tribe was one of the very few things that mattered to Raven.

Eventually, she would just wait and see what could be done. All three were acceptable options, even if the third was a dangerous one, but she still needed to find out more about Taro. Only then she would swoop in and take him for herself.

* * *

**Penny all the meanwhile had witnessed the whole event took place from start to finished from her viewpoint away from the crowd of cheering people. The Gynoid completely amazed by what she had witnessed. However before she could worry about how Taro seemingly disappeared as he flew away.**

**"Hey! Hey Penny!" a sudden and all to familiar voice called out to her.**

**And Penny was overjoyed when she looked over to see Kotaro running towards her. Waving and smiling as he approached. At that moment Penny suddenly darted forward and quickly closed the distance between the both of them. And then proceeded to give him a bone breaking hug as she outright glomped him out joy.**

Everyone winced a little. Penny was robot, which meant her strength was so much more than a normal girl her size and built.

Then they remembered Taro had just effortlessly kicked the butts of two titanic entities that, in turn, effortlessly killed the Leviathan Grimm and destroyed the Atlasian Colossus mech specifically created to fight off Titan-class Grimm, and suddenly they just shrugged at the sight of the hug, knowing Taro would barely feel it anyway.

**"Kotaro that was incredible!" she said as she hugged him tightly, "you defeated those monsters and saved the city! It was absolutely sensational!"**

**Kotaro just smiled back as he returned the hug, "just doing what i was trained for Penny. After all its an Ultras duty to help others," he said as the two locked eyes together "but remember, no one must know about who i really am. So this must remain our secret." he said with the upmost seriousness in his tone of voice.**

**Initially confused, Penny just titled her head. not understanding why he was asking her that, "But how come?" she asked.**

**"You have to understand Penny. People can't know who i really am and where i come from. Chances are they moght not respond to it very well." he explained to her, "can i trust you to keep this between us?"**

"Don't worry Friend Kotaro, I'm great at keeping secrets! You can trust me," Penny stated with a smile.

"Penny, what secrets did you have to keep before?" Weiss asked, still a bit weirded out by the girl. Not because she was a gynoid with functioning Aura, but mostly because of her attitude. Too much like Ruby, but even worse in a way.

"I currently have five secrets in my records! One of them is my nature as an Aura-generating android. One is a secret of my father's, and the other three are secrets my teammate Ciel Soleil confided me!" Penny explained proudly.

"You know, in hindsight it was _really_ obvious she was a robogirl," Nora whispered to Ren. Only that she whispered it loud enough to be heard by just about everyone.

"N-Nora!" Still a bit dizzy and green from the spinning session with Nora earlier, Ren could only manage that single word before another wave of dizziness hit and he almost lost his balance.

"Ms Valkyrie, that was incredibly rude of you, apologize this instant," Goodwitch called out, making Nora wince.

Even the mighty Queen of the Castle had to bow down to the Witch of Beacon…

"Sorry Penny…"

"Don't worry, Friend Nora! I am not offended at all!"

**Penny just smiled as she pulled away and gave him a salute, "Don't worry friend Kotaro, I'm great at keeping secrets! You can trust me."**

"Can we appreciate for a moment how Penny keeps repeating herself?" Yang grinned. "We could say she's a… _broken record_, huh?"

"I am not broken, Friend Yang…" Penny said, confused by the pun.

Everyone else just groaned. "It was just a joke, Penny," Qrow commented. "She's always saying stuff like that."

**"But you never had to keep a secret before," Kotaro pointed out.**

"Yes I did! Even back then I was still keeping my true identity a secret from most people!" Penny exclaimed excitedly. "However, even if I hadn't, that would only prove my point as I wouldn't have told anyone any secret, being unable to do so! But he shouldn't worry, I would not tell a soul!"

**"Which only proves my point! Don't worry, i promise not to tell a soul!" She said with the same happy smile she always gave him. Which just made Kotaro smile.**

Yang fell on the ground, laughing as she clutched her sides. "Oh my God this is pure comedy gold! Do it again! Do it again!"

**"Thank you Penny." he said, "Now. Since things are gonna calm down soon, how about we go sightseeing liked i promised?"**

"Sensational!" Penny exclaimed, standing up just to jump excitedly. "I would love to go sightseeing in Argus!"

"Maybe we can arrange you to visit the city after the Vytal Festival," Ironwood told her. "It is a quite large city, so I don't think going in your free weekends could cover it all."

"Thank you, General Ironwood!" Penny said, her signature megawatt smile still in place.

**"Sensational!" Penny said as she raised her hand up with a little hop.**

By now Yang was short of breath for how much she was laughing.

The sad thing was, no one was laughing alongside her. They were all just looking at her weirdly. Like she was the one doing something odd instead of Penny, both in real life and in the projection.

"What?" she wheezed out once she got some air back in her lungs. "Don't… don't you think… this is hilarious?"

"Not quite, Ms Xiao Long," Winter replied frostily, displeased by Yang's actions. "Please do try to contain yourself in the future."

"Jeez, you're no fun, all of you!"

**And like that the two went on their way as they began to explore everything that the city of Argus had to offer. No one none the wiser about who the two really are or how big of a role they'll both play in what is to come.**

**But all the while though as they walked together, Kotaro couldn't help but think of something now that the city was safe.**

**'King Guesura and Zoa Muruchi appearing on this world? What's going on?' he thought to himself. Only now realizing that the world of Remnant might be in more danger than he originally thought.**

"No, you think?" Amber said sarcastically. "I mean, what could you possibly mean by that? It's not like we just saw two monsters that could've individually destroyed the entirety of a city, team up against a basically defenceless Argus, that had to be saved from total annihilation by some random overpowered guy who was just passing by…"

Qrow laughed at her thick sarcasm. "Well, those two were just Mid-Tier 2, who knows how many more of those Kaijus we're gonna see. Or where they might pop up. Who knows, maybe in Atlas next…"

"Silence, Qrow!" Winter exclaimed, angered by his comment. "Are you unaware of the consequences that would have?! If Atlas were to be destroyed, the Dust Trade would collapse alongside it, as well as technology! Remnant would be doomed, either against the Kaijus, or the Grimm!"

Qrow was unimpressed as he turned to Amber. "I'm betting that if a Kaijus does pop up in Atlas, it'll be up in Winter's ass. With how big the stick she has up there is, there must be a lot of room."

With a scream of fury, Winter grabbed her weapon and dashed at Qrow, only to be stopped by a purple runic wall courtesy of Goodwitch.

"ENOUGH!" the Deputy Headmistress of Beacon cried out, and silenced all noise, including the struggling Weiss trying to get out of Yang's grip to attack Qrow. "Specialist Schnee, you should know better than to reply with physical violence against a verbal offence! Qrow, you should be ashamed of yourself for both your unforgivable rudeness _and_ your wilful provocation to the Specialist, who you very well know has time and again responded in this exact manner to previous offences by you. Both of you, this ends now! Am I clear?!"

Winter gritted her teeth. Qrow rolled his eyes.

"AM. I. CLEAR?!"

"Yes, Deputy Headmistress," Winter forced out, still glaring bloody murder at Qrow. Weiss and Ironwood alike weren't too far behind either.

Qrow just rolled his eyes again. "Sure, whatever. Sorry…" He then leaned closer to Amber and continued. "…for telling the hard truth."

Amber put a hand over her mouth to cover the smirk that was forming on her lips.

* * *

**Meanwhile in the Argus base, Cordovin was quickly making her way to her office.**

**The special agent had thankfully managed to come out with only minor injuries. But when her own staff pulled her out of the cockpit She was bared witnessed to the Battle between Taro and the Two Kaiju. never before in her life had she ever witnessed anything like the battle between the Ultra and the two monsters.**

"Well, at least Special Agent Cordovin is safe and sound, minor some secondary injuries," Ironwood commented. "I admit I was starting to get worried for her safety. The Kaiju hit the Colossus quite hard, and I wasn't sure its defences would've been enough to guarantee the safety of its pilot. I am happy to see I was wrong, and that the mech is stronger than even I gave it credit for."

**Needless to say the moment the fight ended and Taro took the skies and disappeared did Cordovin make her move as she dashed to her office.**

**When she sat down she turned on the emergency communications system and speed dialed a single number. And when someone on the line picked up she had only this to say.**

**"This is Special Agent Cordovin of the Argus Base requesting an immediate word with General Ironwood," she said with complete discipline in her voice. "He's going to want to hear what I have to tell him."**

"I gotta admit, it takes some serious self-control to be able to recover from a shock like that so quickly," Yang admitted. It wasn't that she didn't like giving credit where credit was due, but that was mostly when it came to her friends. When it came to people she didn't know or disliked, she usually never praised them.

Understandably enough, given her personality. While nowhere nearly as much as her mother, Yang did have a small superiority complex. Not enough to be dangerous for others, but big enough to be recognizable, and perhaps even a threat to her health in case she got herself in over her head.

Ironwood, meanwhile, was smiling. He knew that Cordovin would immediately inform him of what happened, and if his other self was smart, he would immediately do two things. First, contact Ozpin. As much as he hated to rely on someone else, Ironwood knew Ozpin had knowledge beyond what any other entity in the world did, living and not, except for Salem herself. He would first confirm it was nothing like Ozpin had ever seen, and then start investigating.

Once he found out Taro wasn't connected to Salem in any way, and was figuratively still up to grab in terms of who he sided with, his other self would then do anything to get him on their side. And for good reason, too! With Taro, Salem would be nothing but a distant dream.

Idly, he wondered if Taro had the normal lifespan of a human, or if he could live longer, perhaps even forever. He doubted the latter would be the case, but even if Taro could live longer than humans, it would still be incredible.

Not to mention Taro's children would obviously have immense powers as well, even if perhaps never as much as the father himself.

Ironwood didn't want to think about it, but having Taro father as many children as he could would lead to a true army of superhumans in their ranks, superhumans who could then be paired up with other superhumans to keep their Ultraman genes as pure as possible. He knew doing something even remotely close to that would be inhuman, but if he had to be honest, he was ready to become a monster if it meant finding a way to save humanity, once and for all.

Because if he could have Taro have enough children, then the Ultra-Atlasian superhuman community would slowly grow and remain even after his death by old age, if that were to occur, or his departure if he were to return to his home planet. And nothing would ever be able to harm Atlas, or humanity, again. Salem, Grimm, criminals, terrorists… nothing would be able to match Atlas's hybrid warriors.

Creating android would become obsolete. And if Ironwood could have something that made someone like _Penny_ look obsolete in terms of combat potential, then he would be damned if it let that opportunity slip from his fingers.

**_Now, I'm not trying to make Ironwood the bad guy, but in canon we all saw how he was ready to sacrifice people if it meant getting a shot at saving his people. So I feel like I'm justified here._**

**_I don't see him as a bastard, an asshole who should be bashed and insulted for all he's done, or anything of the sort. I just acknowledge his flaws as a character and use them to make an interesting story._**

**_My opinion of him, honestly, hasn't changed at all._**

**_Until next time,_**

**_Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Hey there! Commission time now. I know I haven't updated much lately (past month at least) but I was submerged by work (that since it was for my father, I didn't even get paid) and my stress levels had risen above what I'm comfortable with. Since it was writing work, I didn't feel like writing ten hours per day between work and fanfictions, so I put everything on hold (that, I barely managed 800 words in three weeks when I tried). Right now I'm sick (not Covid, thankfully, but still sick), and the next story to be updated (Watching Future Mistakes) will probably take a while since I'm currently at 1,735 words with a goal of at least 8,000 words.  
_**

**_This commission is for Ultrahero74! The reactions are mine, but the story is property of Ultrahero74. Cheers!_**

If they thought they would wait very little before the next projecting session began, then they would be disappointed.

"Guys!" Ruby's voice got everyone's attention, tearing them from their thoughts of awe and conspiracy (teens and adults, respectively). The girl in red and black was standing next to the projector in the middle, one fitted _into_ a column of blue and dark green materials. She pointed her finger toward the barely-visible display. "There's something written on it."

"What is it?" Yang asked, walking up to her alongside Team RWBY. With Jaune and Pyrrha having recovered, JNPR also joined them. "What does it say?"

"They look like numbers," replied her younger sister, squinting to see through the semi-opaque gems surrounding the projector. "Twenty-eight… colon… forty-seven. No, forty-six. No, wait, it's ticking down!"

"A bomb?!" Blake exclaimed, cat ears trying to flatten against her head.

Everyone scooted away from the object. Everyone but Weiss.

"Guys, of course it's not a bomb, it's probably just recharging," sighed the heiress, shaking her head. She pointed at the semi-hidden projector. "Looks like we're going to have to wait thirty minutes before the next projection starts."

"Ms Schnee, as much as I'd like to agree that having a bomb fitted inside a projector is pointless, I suggest you step away from it nonetheless," Goodwitch spoke up, her strict tone telling her that the _suggestion_ was an order in all but name.

"Of course, Professor." Weiss nodded and walked back to her team. _'I wouldn't have stood there for thirty minutes anyway'_

"But why would it be thirty minutes?" Pyrrha wondered out loud. "The first time it was basically instantaneous, the second it took a few minutes, same as the third. The fourth took fifteen minutes, and now thirty. Is the time increasing?"

"Nope, I just needed some time for introductions."

With a yelp, everyone turned around to see Khor, standing there with a sheepish look on his face. By his side there was a short (like, super short) girl with short white hair and a pair of goggles on, covering her eyes. She also had fox ears peeking out of her hair and a bushy tail that could be seen behind her, partially hidden by a long white lab coat that made her look like a mad scientist, especially when paired with the goggles. She lazily waved. "Hiya. Nice to meet most of you."

_'Most?'_ everyone thought.

"Sorry for popping in so suddenly, but I wanted to leave her with you since she's gonna be important later," Khor explained quickly, earning himself an even more confused look from the Viewers. The girl just stared at them as if she already knew what was going on. "Basically, you're gonna see her in the upcoming projecting session, so I wanted to introduce her _before_ the session started. I don't like to interrupt a session mid-way just because a new person popped up."

"So you're saying she's gonna appear as well?" Winter questioned, looking over the Faunus scientist. "Is she going to meet Mr Taro?" She narrowed her eyes. "She looks familiar…"

"Of course you'd say that. Well, this is Mary." Khor glanced at her. "Full name Mary Sue Aarons, but you can just call her by first name." Then he smirked at Winter. "She's familiar indeed. She's the one who kicked Ironwood in the balls and bitch-slapped you."

"Oh no, not her," Ironwood groaned, face-palming. _'I can't even arrest her since I went as James Ironwood when I met her, not as a military officer.'_

"Why did you bring her here?!" Winter demanded to know, indignant. "She will cause nothing but trouble!"

"What?!" everyone else shouted, incredulous.

"Well, why don't we ask Mary?" Khor suggested with a sly grin. "No offence, but I believe she'd have a bigger impact on people here. Mary, if you would, why don't you explain what happened that time?"

"Sure thing, Horns. Well, Horn and a Half, really." Khor grumbled, rubbing the stump of the horn Amber had broken earlier. Mary paid him no heed and turned to the audience with a grin of her own. "So anyway, it's a funny story. A long time ago-"

"It was last year," Winter corrected frostily.

"I didn't think you already reached the age where a year isn't long, but okay~" Mary was delighted to see Winter's glare narrow even further. "As I was saying, _last year_, Mr Cyborg Ass over there tried to recruit me into the Atlas Military Science Division. I'll admit, the pay was good – everything else was not."

_'Cyborg Ass?'_ Nora repeated in a mumble. _'Does she mean that literally?'_

"It was an incredible opportunity for you. Atlas could've benefited from your Semblance's power and your life would've become much better," Ironwood replied stiffly, straightening up a little to look even more imposing. He already towered over her while hunched down, straight up he made her look like a child. "You would've had a yearly salary of several million Lien, the privilege of being part of one of the most scientifically and technologically advanced organisations in the entire planet, and you would've been the first Faunus to reach that high in Atlas's hierarchy."

"Wow, I totally misjudged you," Mary said, eyes wide. Then she deadpanned and her tone turned sarcastic. "Not. You say privilege, I say hell. A Faunus in Atlas's Science Division? Yeah, sure. Money doesn't have a race but everyone knows that Atlas's discrimination is up there with its arrogance – both aren't lacking. It's obvious you would simply use me and take the credit yourself – if not you, then some other scientist. And they'd surely believe them over a 'dirty Faunus'." Mary rolled her eyes and made a noise of disgust. "You don't discriminate simply because as long as they keep the weapons coming, you're happy. Odd fetish but I don't kink-shame people. Too bad most people in Atlas think that, in a world of superpowers and soulless monsters, having a tail or ears is something horrible."

"Oh, and let's not forget the fact that I don't want to work on machines of mass destructions that Atlas would use against people the moment the Council decided to become the rulers of the world – it's not like it would be the first time anyway." Mary scratched one of her fox ears while she talked, observing everyone's reaction. She seemed please to notice that at least the students were pretty much speechless. "And the fact I'd be high in the hierarchy? Yeah, sure. They'll just use me as a way of 'proving' that Atlas has nothing against Faunus. A disclaimer that will then be discarded as soon as the attention of the public is elsewhere."

"She sure seems to have a hate boner for Atlas, huh?" Qrow commented, making Amber and Taiyang both nod, impressed by the venom in her voice. "But still I want to know why you kicked him in the balls. I mean, you look like you could've just roasted him right then and there."

"Oh, of course I did," Mary replied, all too happy to remind everyone that she had actually kicked the Atlasian General in the balls. "He didn't come as General since he wanted it to be a discreet thing, so to surprise the media with it. No armed escort except for his loyal doggy over there." She jerked her head toward Winter, whose hand flew to the hilt of her sword. "He came up to me and told me his idea. Basically, he told me to get in line so I could join the never-ending ass-kissing that is the Atlas politics, and I didn't like the idea, so I told him no, and when he tried to convince me that I would've benefited from the deal, I kicked him in the balls. Then his guard dog tried to arrest me, and I slapped her." She looked thoughtful for a second before adding, "Oh, and I might've also yelled _Fuck you, you ass-fucking dogs!_ Or something along those lines. No offence to anyone who likes anal, of course, I'd never compare them to Atlasians."

Qrow burst out laughing, quickly followed by Yang and Nora. Everyone else was in some kind of shock born of horror – she'd just candidly insulted one of the most influential men on the planet, calling him all sorts of names, without even giving him time to defend himself. Brutal was an understatement.

Some of them didn't like it, either – way too aggressive without reason. But the aforementioned three were definitely having the time of their lives.

"As if I would let a child blinded by unjustified bias and hatred persuade me she's right," Winter growled, staring daggers at Mary, who just flipped her off calmly. "You speak as if you know everything, as if you know perfectly what is right and what is wrong, while you don't even know how Atlas works. You base your prejudice on speculation I have no doubt the White Fang will have spread around in Menagerie and amongst Faunus. Your sources are unreliable and thus your opinion is flawed and pointless."

Mary looked at her and shrugged. "Whoopsie, looks like I hit a nerve. I mean, only an absolute idiot, or a monster, would deny the inhuman cruelty Faunus suffer at the hands of Atlas's people. I can relate to Mantle… but Atlas? No, not Atlas. It's a city full of people who are either businessmen who only want more money, without caring for the lives of people, or naive idiots who can't see the truth nature of their neighbours." The white-haired Faunus didn't bother giving names. "Everyone who does a tiny bit of research knows that the Schnee Dust Company is guilty of unspeakable crimes, such as slavery, murder, torture, and affiliation with criminal organisations, usually called in to deal with the SDC's political enemies. And yet, Jackass Gelé not only walks free, but is one of the most influential, richest men alive."

Winter narrowed her eyes. "While I do not see eye-to-eye with my father, we have repeatedly checked and the SDC's activities are within what the law allows, even if just barely."

Mary gestured at her as if to say 'See? She gets it!'. "Exactly! This should tell you a lot about what kind of laws there are in Atlas, if all of that goes without punishment. And then you bitch out at anyone who 'doesn't follow the law' and want to arrest this and arrest that." She snorted. "Sure. I mean, compared to the SDC, the White Fang has killed a lot less people. They are still bloodthirsty bastards but hey, numbers are numbers. What, does the SDC have a special license to kill and torture issue by the Atlasian government?"

"You should watch your tongue!" roared Winter, drawing her sword. She made to lunge at the unperturbed whitenette, but Ironwood held her back. Following his gaze, Winter tensed when she noticed that everyone else in the room was looking at her.

"Stand down, Schnee. Do not let her baseless offences get to you. I thought I trained you better than that," the General told her sternly. As much as he hated what Mary just said, she wasn't completely wrong about Jacques Schnee, and they were just _words_. A soldier should never respond words with violence. Especially such a highly skilled soldier, against a civilian.

Then he turned to Mary. "Watch what you say, Ms Aarons. Here, both Winter and I are military officers of a visiting country – insulting us could get you arrested."

"And she almost attacked me, which would've been a declaration of war, but who follows _those_ laws any more?" Mary shrugged. "If they did, the Kingdoms would be constantly at war, if it only takes a particularly dumb fucker to declare war."

"Declarations of war aren't instantaneous, they must be approved by the government," retorted the General. "While I could ask for your arrest right now. In fact, I will ask for a restraining order – I will forbid you to come close or even talk to us, since I know all you have to say are pointless insults."

Mary blew him a raspberry. "Good luck getting that restraining order. We're not in Vale any more, or Remnant for all that matters. And I don't think Horns over here would give you that restraining order."

Khor shrugged. "If I gave you that, then I would have to issue a restraining order on Winter to keep her away from Qrow, since she has already tried to attack him without being attacked first. And I think that would pretty much ruin her career, now wouldn't it? So really, it's better if I _don't_ get involved."

"Nah, Cyborg Ass would remove any criminal offence from her records just to keep his loyal little doggy," snickered Mary.

"Why you-"

"Winter, enough! Do not raise to the bait!" Ironwood barked, silencing his Specialist. Then he turned his glare on Khor. "Have it your way. But leave us alone, or we'll be forced to take countermeasures."

Mary flipped him off again and turned to the students, looking at them critically. "So, anyway. I know you must all be wondering why I'm here. Thing is, I know Taro. Like, personally know him. Khor told me you were watching Taro's past from before he met us, so I won't spoil anything for you. Although I must say," she added, looking at Penny. "I honestly thought it'd be harder to tell you were a robot. A tad disappointing, no offence girl, but it's almost as obvious as Kitty Cat's so-called _disguise_."

Blake looked up in shock. No one had ever managed to tell she was a Faunus!

Mary looked at her pityingly, then shook her head. "Honestly, if no one realized, then I'm not even going to say it – use your peanut-sized brains and figure it out."

The Faunus relaxed slightly, but not by much. Mary had proved to be too unpredictable to relax around.

Khor cleared his throat. "So, I know you're all gonna _love_ this, but Mary is going to stay with you from now on. She's important to the story and she's pretty smart, so she'll be able to answer a lot of your questions, but don't bother her too much or she'll just sass you to death. Almost literally." He clapped his hands with an evil grin, ignoring the protests. "This being said, see you later!"

And he disappeared in a shower of tiny blue crystals.

"So Horns is also Gems, huh?" Mary noted with a raised eyebrow before glancing around. "I suppose he created this place. Fitting."

"Miss Aarons, how did you know I was a robot?" Penny asked, confused.

"Well, even without looking at your body language or lack thereof, your iris are tiny metallic plates that can slide closer to enlarge or shrink the pupil, so there's that," the whitenette replied easily. "But don't mind my observations, they're a byproduct of my Semblance, which allows me to analyse and process things a lot faster than normal people – I'm basically a computer. Of course, if I don't know something I can't just magically know, but I can guess. Unfortunately, it's not something I can shut off."

"How's that a drawback?" asked Qrow, a little annoyed and for good reason – _his_ Semblance was basically all drawback. "Being super smart all the time sounds useful."

"Not when my mind automatically calculates the fact that you have a chance of around eleven percent of having tried to mix your two main hobbies by having sex with a bottle of alcohol. Sorry, ten point seven eight three six eight." Everyone stared at her, weirded out. "See? Annoying. Sometimes constantly overanalysing and overthinking things is not a good thing." She shrugged off the stares. "So anyway, can we start already?"

"Actually… we still have ten minutes," Nora informed her, walking over to the projector and peering at it. The display said 00:08:22 and counting down.

"Oh, well, then I guess I can use that time to explain the tier system," Mary proclaimed nonchalantly.

"Wait, tier system? You mean the power ranking shown about the two Kajius, both of them _Mid-Tier 2_?" Jaune questioned her, receiving odd looks from Weiss, Blake and the adults. "What? I pay attention when I want to. Plus, details like those are important."

"Keen eye, blondie," Mary nodded in acknowledgement. "Anyway yes, I was referring to that power system. I'm going to keep it as short as I can. Now, Tier 1 are mostly giant animals with no special abilities, which means that while they can still level a city, they are pretty straightforward to fight."

"Tier 2 are a little trickier. As you can see, just because they are the second-weakest tier doesn't mean they are weak. You'd need several teams of ridiculously powerful Hunters to take down one of these, but they could still do it. The Kaijus you saw were both Tier 2, though neither were top-tiered." She thought for a moment, or more likely she got lost in one of her calculations for a second. Then she resumed. "Tier 3 are already beyond what Hunters can take down. Perhaps using Hunters, science and technology and concentrating all of Remnant's resources -meaning somehow getting the Grimm to play disturbance as well- maybe Remnant as a whole might take down one. But I doubt it – it would just tear through the planet while we're still preparing."

"Tier 4 are even more powerful, usually to the point of being ridiculously powerful even for Kaijus. Remnant as a whole could unite and fight one Tier 4, and it would lose. Spectacularly so, too," she added with a good helping of sarcasm. "As you can guess, Tier 5 is _even more_ powerful that Tier 4. Considering that even our strongest Grimm can't reach Tier 3 -special abilities might allow some Grimm to be a Low-Tier 2 but it's unlikely- it's basically impossible for you to imagine these monsters."

"Tier 6 are the 'apparently invincible' Kaijus." She raised a hand to stop the questions. "Basically, they are invincible unless a certain condition is met. Usually this conditions is also fucking impossible to fulfil too, so they are basically invincible." She smiled. "And then there are the Tier 7. They are literally invincible. Taro told me that those he knew of got weaker on their own for some reason – perhaps some kind of Kaiju-only disease or other happenings – which made them beatable, but otherwise these guys are literally invincible, there is no way to beat them. The Ultraman King is also here."

"What about Taro? Where does he fit in the tier ranking?" asked Pyrrha, curious about the man. He was surely above Tier 2, probably 3 as well.

"He's a Mid-Tier 5, but honestly?" Her smile became a predatory grin. "I'm pretty sure he could go beyond that. After all, he defea-"

_BOOM!_

And then the projector exploded, sending dust and small debris all around the room, making them cough, before the projecting session resumed.

**General James Ironwood was considered a lot of different things during his long career in the Atlas Military.**

**A Great commander, a headmaster, a good friend to others, and many other things as well.**

"Kiss ass," Qrow managed to cough out, tearing up as the dust got into his eyes.

"I guess in the end it was _also_ a bomb," Ren commented. The boy had pulled his shirt up to cover his mouth and nose. His eyes were watering as well, but he was handling himself pretty well. "But why?"

"I suspect Khor has a very odd sense of humour. Unconventional, if you would," Ozpin replied with a sigh, wiping his dirty glasses with his handkerchief. He placed them back on his eyes. "And we cannot rule out the chance that he might consider this a harmless prank."

"Coffeman isn't wrong," Mary nodded. "Considering the powers he must hold to bring us all here, it's probable he didn't think a bomb would do much. Which is kinda true – no one got hurt."

**And somebody who overreacts to things as well as being a self righteous hypocritical jackass like the rest of the people up in Atlas. Save for a few exceptions.**

Everyone stared flatly at Mary, who just shrugged. "What? I have nothing to do with this projection. Even though I think it went easy on him. But I suppose he's not important enough to spend so much time insulting him."

"General Ironwood is an accomplished soldier who reached this rank through hard work and skill!" Winter was quick to defend him, glaring down at the much shorter white-haired girl.

"Plus he was made General for a reason, as well as being the Headmaster of Atlas Academy," Weiss added as well, defending her home kingdom. While she didn't like how they did business, she didn't hate all of them.

Mary blah-blah-blahed them with a grin. "Yeah yeah. I don't doubt that he was the picture of the perfect Atlasian Commander! I'm sure he fulfilled _every_ criterium they set. Too bad that means he is, as described, self-righteous and arrogant as well as an asshole. Or well, a cyborg asshole. Oh, and he's rich. That's important too."

"Ms Aarons, James was chosen because he was the most competent for the roles, both of them," Ozpin reminded her with a vein of steel in his voice.

"Of course he was, you needed someone who knew how to handle Atlasians at the head of Atlas Academy, didn't you?" Mary grinned mischievously.

"What are you implying, Ms Aarons?" Goodwitch inquired as the Inner Circle began to tense.

"Simple, the Headmasters all work very closely together to organize inter-school events and all. So he needed someone who knew how the Atlas Council worked to get the school projects to be accepted," she replied smoothly, although the glint in her eyes didn't leave.

**However right now though, what he was was somebody who currently just got the message about an entirely new kind of ballgame that's just been introduced to him.**

**Everything had started off normal today. All the soldiers under his command were doing their assigned jobs. There was no indication of any recent Grimm activity. And everything was seemingly turning out as a seemingly calm and normal day in Atlas, as well as Mantle.**

**But then later on Did he get an emergency transmission from the base that was placed in Argus. Straight from Special Agent Cordovin herself.**

**Answering the line to see what she wanted, it was only then did the old agent started off formal at first. Only to go straight into full blown ranting when she started to make her report. Ironwood was initially confused as to why the fanatical agent was acting so out of character before she sent him some footage about a Grimm incursion that had happened earlier in the day.**

"And now we get to see the reaction of the General to the Kaijus," Yang grinned excitedly. "I wonder how much he'll like the news of superpowered monsters attacking Argus and scrapping its giant robot protector like a soda can."

"Yang! You should be more respectful! General Ironwood-" Weiss was cut off by the blonde, who just waved her off.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not offending him, I'm just stating a fact – the Kaijus toyed with giant robot _and_ Grimm alike. And I'm curious to see how he'll react, since it was _his_ robot, in a way."

"I doubt I will like it much, but I'm sure I will analyse the situation and react in the way I believe is the best," the man himself replied, also to avoid looking at Mary, who was doing a very offensive replica of his speech in real time. "I cannot say for certain, since in the projection I was not aware of them beforehand like I am now, but I'm sure everything will turn out for the best."

Jaune and Ruby exchanged a guilty glance – in comics and anime, even if people _did_ try to help the good guys, usually the main characters were the ones to do everything. So really, it probably wouldn't be up to Ironwood anyway.

**From the start it would seem like the staff stationed in the base had dealt with the situation rather well.**

_'I take that back, I'm firing all of them for not noticing the two approaching threats,'_ Ironwood thought angrily, bunching up his fists.

**Though he had to admit even he was rather put off by Cordovin's fanaticism to her Kingdom, but regardless she handled herself and the Leviathan Grimm that had appeared rather effectively. And he watched as she was about to take care of the matter.**

**And that's when shit hit the fan hard.**

**Now to be honest, Ironwood was a rather battle hardened man. Who had earned his rank over the years by performing many accomplishments and going against various different threats.**

"Yeah, like international laws, basic human rights, public disapproval, people's lives and business rivals!" Mary nodded, faking a serious tone. "Cyborg Ass is talented at facing and overcoming those kinds of challenges."

"Ms Aarons, while I understand that you don't like Ironwood, or Atlasians in general, could you please try to contain yourself?" Taiyang spoke up, causing the Atlasians in the room to glance at him gratefully. "Picking a fight is wrong, no matter how much you may think the other side deserves the ribbing."

Mary shrugged. "Picking a fight isn't wrong if it's exactly what you're trying to do. I'm not afraid of them nor do I care if my words _huwt theiw bawby feelings_," she added in a baby voice before returning serious. "But if it's getting annoying for you, I'll try to tone it down a bit."

**So needless to say it would be very difficult to break his ironclad composure. But what he saw next didn't just break his composure. It outright shattered it!**

**Monsters. But not like the Grimm, no these creatures that suddenly came bursting out of the water were clearly something much worst. The first one easily ripping apart and tossing aside the Colossus Battle-Mech. The second one beating down the Leviathan with ease, before firing a beam of pure heat from its mouth. The first Kaiju then decimated the Atlesian ships that attempted to attack it.**

**By then both monsters turned their attention to the city and Ironwood was actually about to call in the entirety of the Atlas Military to deal with these creatures. Before he quickly remembered that this was a recording and somewhat relaxed.**

"Happens all the time," laughed Nora, remembering all the times she watched a video or a movie and forgot it was only on the screen. Fortunately she never really watched horror movies, or she would have a TV bodycount too high to count.

Mary opened her mouth to roast Ironwood some more, but then shrugged and closed it. She would have to choose her battles and comment when it hurt the most. Petty comments, she could give them up if it made the students more comfortable.

**Besides, what happened next explained why Argus was still on the map.**

"That's a pretty accurate way of putting it," nodded Amber. Grimm could devastate a city, but those monsters looked like they could literally level every building to nothingness.

**But it was none the less shocking. Possibly even more so if that was even possible at this point.**

**Out of nowhere, appearing in a flash of light was a giant!**

**Ironwood from that point could only watch as the Giant horned being fought both the monsters at once. And defeated both creatures with incredible skill and strength that only a Hunter or Huntress could accomplish. He defeated the first monster with ease. And the second one went down just as fast.**

**What was truly incredible was how the Giant finished the fight. It's whole body glowed with rainbow colored light before firing a beam that had so much power not even the super computers in his office could fully fathom how powerful it was.**

"What does that mean?" asked Jaune. "It's not like you could calculate its power by a simple video, right? I mean, you'd need specialized recordings from particular equipment or something, right?"

"Actually, no. Well, I guess the answer is yes and no at the same time," replied Ironwood. "We can do both. We do have specialized equipment for it, but we can also extract data from a normal recording, as long as its quality isn't poor. However I'm afraid that I cannot give any more details than that."

"Because you're dumb," snickered Qrow.

"Because it's classified information," retorted Winter, staring down the Hunter.

"Where you left your brain is classified information," snarked Mary, before turning to the boy. "It's simple, Jaune, there are visual signs of power which can be picked up and analysed by a computer. Here, look." Mary pulled her Scroll out and scooted over to the boy, who leaned in to look at the holographic screen. "For example, that energy beam. First of all, unbridled energy generates heat. Cold energy is usually controlled energy. Now, if energy generates heat, heat does have some visual signs, like distortion in the air, or simply heat damage to its surroundings. Heat and energy both generate light, which is a form of energy, so very luminous energy is strong energy. It doesn't matter what colour, as long as it's remarkably strong. Did you understand?"

He nodded, still looking at her Scroll. "Yeah. Makes sense. Though honestly the thought that with computers, people could be able to tell so many things from a simple recording is kinda scary."

"Welcome to the club of being paranoid over the Atlas Military spying everyone to try and take over the world," Mary replied with a smirk, closing her Scroll. "If you want me to teach you how to protect your computer or Scroll from hacking, or for lessons about IT, hit me up."

"Sure! It looks really interesting!" he agreed with a giant smile.

_'As much as I think he was stupid when he entered Beacon with no training or Aura, I gotta admit that at least he's eager to learn,'_ Mary thought to herself. _'Though I guess that Pyrrha helping him with combat also brought down his pride a bit – not like there was much to begin with.'_

"How do you know about protection from hacking?" Weiss asked, confused. "There _is_ no protection unless you consider counter-hacking a protection."

"That's because your firewalls and antivirus suck big time," the white-haired Faunus replied.

**And just like that the giant took to the Sky and disappeared into the distance.**

**From there the general had to calm his nerves greatly. Too disgruntled to even bother listening to Cordovin's ramblings. Regardless before she could even continue he hung up to ponder and thin to himself. Everything about the whole situation didn't sit well with him. The Grimm where bad enough, among other things. But now this? it was all to much even for him.**

"You hung up on her?" Amber repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that like, against military protocol?"

"It isn't, especially if she started to ramble."

**Roughly an hour later did he decide to inform his most trusted ally. Ozpin, of Beacon Academy.**

**The moment the Headmaster's image appeared on the screen Ironwood wasted no time to show him the footage he had been shown.**

**And while his reaction seemed neutral compared to his, Ironwood could still see the shock hidden in his features. Which in on itself was extremely shocking to the general considering he's never even seen Ozpin get shocked.**

**Which showed how much of a big deal this was.**

"Really? You are never shocked?" Nora asked out loud. "I'm shocked all the time! How do you keep yourself so calm?"

"A lot of experience, Ms Valkyrie," Ozpin smiled knowingly at her.

"Yeah, he's pretty old so he's had time to learn," Qrow snickered, making Amber chuckle a little as well.

"Well, you aren't wrong, Qrow. Although you're not exactly young yourself, yet you sorely lack that kind of self-control." Ozpin smiled smugly as Qrow stumbled on his laughter, not expecting the old Headmaster to actually fire back.

"And you don't wear your years well. I mean, Raven looks like your daughter, not your sister!" Taiyang joined in on the teasing, making Qrow sputter even more.

Raven rolled her eyes, but she inwardly felt pleased to know that she still looked very youthful.

"I wish my Headmaster could have a cool composure like yours," Sun confided to Blake, who smiled thinly. "I mean, the man is a nervous wreck! I swear, he could probably be bullied into submission by students, how is he supposed to run the whole school?"

"Perhaps his talents lay in the field of paperwork," Blake replied sardonically.

**By the end of the footage Ozpin had slumped onto his desk with a deep pondering look on his face.**

**"Well?" Ironwood asked.**

**Ozpin said nothing for a brief moment as he took a deep breath and sighed. And after what felt like an eternity he finally spoked his mind, "I don't know."**

**"What do you mean you don't know!" Ironwood exclaimed as he got to his feet and had a look of disbelief on his face.**

Ozpin was inwardly amused by the fact that Ironwood thought he knew everything or at least could hypothesise on anything.

Mary smirked as well. Ironwood was a fan of acting independently, but he did basically rely on Ozpin to understand things since his default response always involved his army or his soldiers in some way. She considered speaking up for a moment, but then she let it go since it would just sound like a petty comment unless she pointed out a mistake or wrongdoing that actually influenced the students – no point in insulting them if the students didn't learn from it.

**"I mean what i said," the old headmaster said as he took a sip of his coffee to calm his nerves. "I have seen and experienced many different things James. But this is new even for me."**

**And just like that, Ironwood soon realized the gravity of the situation. A new kind of threat that were clearly more dangerous than even Titan-Classed Grimm. And a Horned Giant that had come seemingly from nowhere and destroyed both creatures, that showed that they both could easily wipe out both high grade military equipment as well as a massive Grimm, with barley any effort at all.**

"For once the cyborg understands the situation," mumbled Mary. _'Though I'm not sure he'll react as well as he understood,'_ she added in her mind, before getting distracted calculating the probability of Ironwood doing something stupid – which turned out to be around ninety percent if not more.

"It's not very hard to understand it's a very serious matter," the General replied stiffly, knowing that despite the seeming agreement, Mary probably had something to say about it too. "It doesn't take a genius to see that those monsters, and Taro, are incredibly powerful. Way more than what we are used to."

**"Dammit Ozpin this serious! If you don't have an Answer as much as I don't then we have to act immediately" Ironwood said as he already began to plan out their next move.**

**"James, you need to relax-"**

**"I'll relax when I find that there aren't anymore of those monsters out there somewhere on Remnant!" The general exclaimed.**

"While that is the right thing to do, wouldn't panicking only make the situation worse?" Amber commented.

"Yes!" That was Mary, who then went back to watching.

"I am only human," replied Ironwood, ignoring Mary's comment on his cybernetic parts and how he was only 64.586% human, the rest being machine. "And thus I can fall victim of my emotions. I can assure you, I do take all possible precautions against acting thoughtlessly."

"And he's in a call with Ozpin, which means Oz will calm him down," Qrow added as well, pointing to the projection. "Case and point."

**"James!" Ozpin suddenly yelled, Getting Ironwood to stop in his panic. Making sure the general had his attention on him, Ozpin leaned back into his seat before speaking, "I understand that this is a serious situation right now. But getting all panicked about it will only make things worse." The old head master reasoned as he went on, "Right now our best course of action is to try prepare for any more threats like those monsters that appeared."**

**With this in mind Ironwood took a breath before sitting back into his char. The general still looking disgruntled by what he saw, but now looking much more relaxed.**

**"Your right. But I still say this is requires immediate action," He said as he then tapped a few buttons on the monitor. When he finished typing in the numbers, the images set on one single individual in the battle. The giant.**

**"More importantly though, what do we do about whoever, or whatever, this giant is" Ironwood asked.**

"Why would it be more important?" Penny asked naively.

"Probably because he's the only one still actually alive," Pyrrha replied calmly, smiling at the gynoid. "Or at least, the only one who wasn't killed during the fight."

"Also because he's the most powerful of the three, and because unlike the monsters he actually showed signs of human-level intelligence," Mary rattled off quickly, her Semblance not giving her time to stop and explain further. "Henceforth, he is the most interesting one to them, not only because of his power, but also because human intelligence means that a diplomatic approach might work and that he could become their ally instead of their enemy."

"As much as I hate to agree with her, she's right," grumbled Ironwood, ignoring Mary's raspberry.

**Out of all the things this footage had shown him, the giant was still the biggest standpoint out of all of it. From the sheer size of him to the immense display of power, everything about this mysterious giant set off a lot of bells inside of the generals head. But what really stood out was the skill in combat he displayed. That fact stood out the most because the giant displayed was a clear sign of intelligence. And intelligence meant that whoever this giant was, he possibly had motives of his own.**

**Whether they were good or bad though had yet to be made clear.**

"That's something I can admit about him – no matter how badly he might react, he does know how to assess the situation properly," Qrow begrudgingly admitted. _'Of course, this doesn't extend to Winter. She may be a good soldier but seriously, she gets so worked up about everything.'_

Ironwood glanced at him and nodded. _'While we have had a disagreement, Qrow is still my friend. Let's hope this can be an olive's branch between us. I don't want to keep secrets from them if I don't have to, but I cannot talk about Atlas's top secret projects in a room full of children.'_ He cleared his throat and turned to the drunk. "While I'd love to take full credit, I learned a lot of it thanks to my mentor, a Huntress who thought my formal training wasn't enough. I was her apprentice for a few years and she taught me a lot regarding how to approach difficult situations on a psychological level."

Qrow lifted his flask at him as acknowledgement, although it kind of looked like he was offering him alcohol.

"Hey, man, that's awesome!" Sun exclaimed with a grin. "Why aren't we taught that at school?"

Ozpin exchanged a glance with Ironwood and sighed. "Because thinking is not something that can be generalized. Different people think differently, so a class like that would need to cater to every student differently. It would be far too complicated and time-consuming to prove efficient. Professor Goodwitch does try to sharpen your intellect as much as she can, but it's not something we can force on you. A method that works for someone might not work for another."

"That is correct. For example, if Friend Ruby were to be taught how to think like Friend Weiss, she wouldn't solve anything, and vice versa, while both are outstanding students when using their own methods," Penny added as well, smiling at the two mentioned girls, who exchanged glances and nodded, agreeing with her words.

**Ozpin meanwhile examined the image of the giant thoroughly, before finally speaking, "Well I can say for certain I haven't seen anything like this man before." He said as he scrolled through the various images taken of the horned stranger, " It's possible this is a semblance of some kind."**

**"Ozpin if that were really the case then we would've been seeing whoever this is long ago," Ironwood reasoned. "No. Something about this giant is different from anything we've seen. Almost... alien even."**

"As much as I hate to agree with Cyborg Ass over there, he's right, it'd be impossible to have such a Semblance and keep it hidden," Mary nodded, a look of disgust on her face at the thought of agreeing with Ironwood. "First off, because Semblances are usually one-trick powers or very straightforward. Gigantification _and_ several superpowers? It's not a newborn Semblance. There is a _microscopic_ chance of training a Semblance to impossible levels, but it takes a lot of time and for a Semblance _that_ flashy, it would've been found out _much_ sooner. So yeah, it can't be a Semblance or they'd know of it."

_'Either that or it's a Semblance groomed and trained by Salem, far away from our eyes, but then why did it protect Argus and leave witnesses? Salem hates for her pawns to be uncovered before their time,'_ Mary thought for a second before mentally smacking herself. _'Of course I go off and calculate what Cyborg Ass might've been thinking. I fucking know Taro on a personal level, dammit!'_

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said your Semblance makes you super smart!" Nora exclaimed with a smile.

Mary shrugged.

**"Well whatever the case he's clearly shown that he's not an enemy. If his battle with those creatures is anything to go by." said Ozpin.**

"Unless he's actually an enemy trying to look like a good guy," Jaune pointed out. "It's not uncommon in comics for a friend of the protagonist to suddenly reveal themselves as a bad guy."

"You are obsessed," Weiss stated flatly.

"I won't confirm nor deny that claim."

"What's wrong with liking comics?" Amber spoke up with a grin, ignoring Qrow's horrified look. "I'll admit I'm partial to suspense and cool detectives, but I do enjoy reading a superpower comic from time to time."

"And besides, it's not like he compares real life to comics," Taiyang added as well, pointing at the projection. "That thing's not real."

Mary rolled her eyes. "I told you guys I personally know Taro."

"Yeah, but Argus wasn't saved by a giant horned man," the blond man replied with a grin.

"Newsflash, I'm not from your multiversal vector coordinates," she replied, sticking out her tongue.

"Our… what now?" Ruby repeated, scratching her head.

"Multiversal vector coordinates. Basically, the specific point of the Multiverse our universe is at," she replied without missing a beat. "The coordinates are of course the three space dimensions, plus time, and Multiversal space coordinates. All of those are numbers. Then there are the non-numeric coordinates like alterations, deviations, opposites, and a whole boatload of others." She looked thoughtful for a second. "A while ago, I even tried to calculate the relation between our multiversal coordinates and the number of cranberries the average hamster can eat in a minute."

Everyone sweat-dropped at her last statement. "A hamster?" repeated Weiss.

"Eating cranberries," Mary confirmed, nodding. "I abandoned the project since I had no way of travelling to alternative universes and find out how many cranberries _their_ hamsters could eat."

**"So it would seem." Ironwood said.**

"Bwahahaha!" Amber burst out laughing. "Sorry, I-Hahaha. It just sounded like Ironwood agreed with Mary's reasoning! Hahaha!"

The teens (and Qrow) cracked a grin of their own. Mary rolled her eyes but she was grinning too. Penny didn't find it particularly funny but she was smiling because her friends were happy.

**However both of them had the same thoughts on one thing. If it is true that whoever this stranger is truly was an ally of some some kind, then how was he able to obtain the power he had.**

**And could he be asked to join their side.**

"Boo!" exclaimed Mary. "Seriously? That's what you're going for? You see a giant who could destroy just about anything you throw at him, and you immediately think of making him your little pawn? I knew you were dumb but that's just suicidal!"

Ironwood and Ozpin had a tick mark each. The former stayed silent, taking his own advice to Winter, while the latter tried to diffuse the situation. "Ms Aarons, it is only natural to try and befriend a new entity of such power. Not because we desire to use him, but because we do not want him to be our enemy."

Mary just cackled. "Yeah, sure. If that's the case, then you're naiver -or dumber- than I thought you were. Let's pretend for a moment that you two would try to harness his powers in some way. I know, I'm asking a lot but let's pretend it's not totally true." Both men glared at her – well, Ironwood glare, Ozpin's eyes just narrowed a little. "Do you really think the Council -Vale or Atlas, it doesn't matter- isn't gonna swoop in and try something? What about big companies like, I don't know, let's see, the SDC?"

"Taro would be a well-kept Atlasian military secret," Ironwood replied stiffly before suppressing a groan. He hadn't meant to say that, but with his job and his position in the Council, that was the first thing that came to mind. He just knew Mary was gonna make a big deal out of a simple mistake.

"An Atlasian military secret, huh? Interesting choice of words," Mary grinned at him, although there was venom in her voice.

"It was a slip-of-the-tongue, Ms Aarons."

"Well, you know what they say, or at least what _I_ say, a slip of the tongue ain't no slip of the mind." She stared at him for a moment. "Yeah, I know you didn't mean to say that but honestly? That's exactly what he would end up being. Atlas would try to keep him a secret for them only, and with his power there is no way they'll put him to crop fields when he's not fighting Kaijus. I know you're trying to do some good here, Ironwood-" He looked surprised she had used his actual name. "-but can you say, and mean it, that Atlas _wouldn't_ try their hardest to get their hands on Taro and do who knows what with him?"

The General looked away. While his projects had been non-violent, he too had immediately thought of some way to use Taro for their benefit. And it was only natural – he had immense power and that power would save thousands of life and make everything so much easier, be it Grimm or international warfare. He was looking out for his people. But there was no denying that to look out for his people, he _was_ willing to sacrifice others.

And if he was willing to do that, then how far would some of the shrewdest, most ruthless businessmen in Atlas go?

"Exactly my point. Look, I hate you but I hate you less than I hate a lot of other Atlasians. I know that if possible, you would _befriend_ Taro instead of going evil dictator right off the bat." She crossed her arms. "But is there a single person in this entire room who thinks that there is _no one_ with power and influence who would try to use Taro for their own goals? Atlas may be full of snobby scum but there are rotten apples everywhere."

"And that's why we should get him on our side," replied Ozpin. "He may be immensely powerful but he has no political influence, no connections and no way to stay under the radar if he is found out. We can provide him with all of that."

Mary shook her head. She didn't deny that they could offer him protection in some way, but the point was Taro wouldn't take lightly being manipulated, and both Ozpin and Ironwood were manipulators (one more than the other). They would be playing with fire.

**Ironwood just sighed before speaking again, "Regardless though I'm going to prepare the atlas military for another possible incursion of those monsters. For your sake I suggest you do the same and prepare like i will," he suggested.**

**Ozpin only just nodded in agreement and the screen shut off ending the call. Which left Ironwood alone in his office with his thoughts.**

"Hey, Mary, what's with that look?" Sun asked, glancing at the white-haired Faunus.

Said fox Faunus was sticking out her tongue as if she had a horrible taste in her mouth. "Nothing. It's just that he said he's gonna be preparing, which means I'm probably going to see the lap dog sucking up to him and all. Not into that."

Ironwood's hand flew out and grabbed Winter's forearm before she could move to attack the Faunus. "At ease, Schnee."

"Yes sir," the woman nodded tensely, letting go of her weapon.

"Why do you hate her so much?" Weiss asked, a tick mark on her forehead as she stared at the girl who liked insulting her sister so much.

"Well, my fellow whitenette, it's because I'm smart and I love smart people – and I hate when smart people waste their brains. Lap Dog over there can be considered above average in intelligence level, but she wastes it by never thinking for herself, always following orders blindly and all."

"That's called loyalty," Weiss replied frostily. "And she is fully capable of disregarding orders, she just doesn't need it since she agrees with them."

"She idolizes Ironwood and she wouldn't listen to anyone telling her otherwise," Mary scoffed. "She thinks your sperm donor is awful, yet she's too blind to see that that adjective is a good fit for a good majority of the Atlasians. Not talking about Mantle here, by the way."

Weiss stared at her for a few seconds. "Are you part of the White Fang?" she asked bluntly.

Mary barked out a laugh, no pun intended. "No. Those dumb nitwits are off their minds. I was part of the Fang when it was still a movement that actually aimed at equality. I dropped out when it became humans hurting Faunus and Faunus hurting humans in some sort of petty revenge that would only make things worse." She paused for a moment. "Also, I find it really stupid how they never tried to free the Faunus slaves in the mines. I guess they just wanted payback, not to actually help the Faunus community."

Blake's cat ears twitched at that and she looked down. She had brought it up several times with Adam, using his own experience there as leverage, but he had always insisted that those places were too closely guarded and that he would not lead his people to die in vain.

**First thing that needed to be done was to inform all of the other major kingdoms of this possible new threat. Chances are that there were possibly more of those monsters out there somewhere, and it would be best to inform all cities and settlements of any possibles attacks from such creatures.**

**Secondly was to get all forces of the Atlas military ready for mobilization from the kingdom and all Atlesian bases. If any more of those giant creatures do appear then everyone needed to be ready to face them. And hopefully they'll be ready for such conflicts.**

**The General was about to make calls and give out orders when suddenly his intercom system went off.**

**"What is it? I'm in the middle of something important here," Ironwood said.**

**"Sorry General Ironwood sir, but Special Operative Schnee is here to see you," said a soldier over the line.**

Mary rolled her eyes. "Fellatio session incoming."

"Ms Aarons, please stop insulting the two of them," Ozpin ordered, standing up menacingly. "I can understand you don't like them – this does not condone calumny!"

Mary looked at him. "Maybe you're right, I've been going too far… even if I don't think so. But if you think you can prosecute me by law, you're dead wrong. Byeffects of a Semblance that the user has no power over cannot be used against them in court. And a side effect of my Semblance makes it hard for me to keep my thoughts to myself. Basically, I have little to no filter." She pointed at Qrow. "Like he is not held responsible for the damage his Unlucky Charm causes, I cannot be held responsible for any verbal offence made while my Semblance is active, which is constantly."

"So basically you are declaring yourself mentally unstable?" Qrow asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not exactly but I suppose you could call it that. Since my Semblance forces me to analyse things more than I normally would, filling my brain with calculations, commenting and focusing on something helps me avoid headaches. However, this means I have to analyse what I'm commenting on and thus this usually results in a pretty honest-to-God comment. Which, by the way, is also why I'm explaining this."

She smirked as she turned to Ironwood and Winter. "So, I cannot be fully held responsible for my comments. Which also means that in court I have to have someone without a mental Semblance backing up my claims or they could be considered invalid too. But right here… I stand by what I said: we're gonna see how well Lap Dog can suck… up."

Yang and Ironwood respectively held down Weiss and Winter, both of whom were looking quite murderous.

"I've never heard of that law, Oz," Qrow mumbled to the Headmaster.

He just sighed. "I don't remember it clearly, but yes it's an actual law. It was made to avoid people blaming innocents victim of their own Semblances for something they had no control over, but of course like all laws there are loopholes in it. And Ms Aarons can effectively use those loopholes. Unless you have a doctor's certificate that her Semblance works like that, we have to take her word for it and if it works that way, she's covered by the law."

**Upon hearing the name of his most trusted soldier Ironwood relaxed, "send her in" he said.**

**Putting the alert for the creatures that appeared in Argus for a moment, Ironwood waited for the Special Agent to enter through the elevator. And after a brief moment did the elevator reached his office with a resounding ding, and a rather beautiful woman stepped through.**

**She was a tall and fair-skinned young woman with slate-blue eyes. She wears her white hair tied up in a bun, high on the left side of the back of her head, while her bangs are shaped around the right side of her face, a small curled lock of hair reaching almost to her left shoulder. Her attire is colored navy blue, white, and gray, consisting of a white coat with sleeves that expose her upper arms, a red-lined high collar, with a red brooch and black gloves, as well as pants that have garters incorporated into them.**

**This was Winter Schnee. Former Heir to the Schnee Dust Company and General Ironwood's right hand woman.**

**Making her way in Winter stood in front of Ironwood and gave a curt salute to him, "Special Agent Winter Schnee reporting sir." She said with a formal and respectful tone of voice.**

**"At ease" said Ironwood, making her relax slightly. "Winter I'm sorry to say but you'll have to make this quick. I'm currently busy with something extremely important."**

"Are you sure you should be telling her that?" Blake asked out loud, raising her hands in defence when Winter glared at her. "No offence, but that sounds like some real top-secret material. Ms Schnee may be your right-hand woman but maybe you should bring the matter to the Council before you take action?"

Winter relaxed once the question was explained not to be born of malice. "Normally you would be right. However, the Atlas Military, as the as all the Hunter Academies, has the power to take action immediately during emergencies. With the level of power Taro has shown, this can be considered an emergency and thus the General can legally take action without informing the Council."

"Although unless the emergency requires secrecy, I will have to tell them later," Ironwood added, nodding at Winter to praise her for the explanation.

**Winter raised a quizzical brow at that "Is something wrong general?" she asked.**

**"Unfortunately yes. But its nothing that I can't handle at the moment." he reassured her, "now. What is it that you needed to see me for?"**

**At that moment when he asked that Question, Ironwood soon took notice of Winter's posture. While it was very subtle do to years of training, among other things in her life. Normally one wouldn't notice such small things from winter but Ironwood knew her better and because of that he was able to pick up such small and sudden hints. And what he saw made his already high anxiety rise a bit more.**

**She was nervous.**

Weiss looked shocked. Her older sister had a composure of a statue. Nothing broke her cool. Of course it was subtle but the simple fact that Winter showed _any_ sign was worrying all by itself.

**"Winter. What is it?" Ironwood asked slowly, trying his best to maintain whatever calmness was left right now.**

**Winter seemed to hesitate for only a brief moment. As if she was reluctant to now tell him what she had to report after learning he was in a not so very good mood. But after a brief moment or so she seemed to have steeled her own nerves and took a deep breath and sighed before finally speaking.**

**"General, I have an important report on project P.E.N.N.Y." she said.**

"Oooh, he's not gonna like it, is he?" Sun winced, glancing at the General.

The man frowned. "I had forgotten about it. That will only complicate matters. I'm sure that just like me, _that_ James Ironwood cares for Penny as much as I do. Splitting his time between an emergency and finding my sort-of niece is going to be hard on an emotional level."

Penny smiled at him. "Don't worry, Mr Ironwood! I am completely safe and, as you said, this is just a projection!"

Many people smiled at the gynoid's sweetness, including the ever-serious General of Atlas.

Mary thought about it but eventually shrugged. She had no proof it was real, since she came from their universe. She wanted to believe it was but the truth was, she had no actual proof.

**At the mention of that particular project, Ironwood suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.**

**"And what might that be?" he dared to ask.**

**Taking another moment to compose herself Winter finally made her report. And what she said did not get Ironwood in a better mood.**

**"I'm sorry to say sir but the ship carrying the project has just been reported to be brought down. And all its crew members are KIA." Winter said solemnly.**

**Needless to say Ironwood wasn't a happy camper.**

"When is he ever?" Qrow mumbled, too low for anyone but the Faunus to catch.

"Well, those are really bad news, and he must be worried about Penny," Blake replied, coming to the General's defence. Not that she liked him or even tolerated him – she had a general dislike towards Atlasian and a light mistrust towards humans. She just thought it would be more correct to point that out.

**"WHAT?!" ironwood cried out, getting to his feet. Having a look on his face that was mixed between Anger and Disbelief, "How did this happen?! And why wasn't I made aware of this earlier?!" he cried out.**

**"I apologize sir but we were only made aware of this development today." Winter said while maintaining her stoic cool, " from what we discovered the ship was brought down by a Grimm horde. Fortunately we managed to locate it and destroyed the horde entirely."**

**"And what of Penny? Was she undamaged or recovered." Ironwood asked her, daring to at least hope something good was to be made out of this mess. But that hoped was crushed like a cockroach under a steamroller when he noticed Winter get nervous again.**

"Nice analogy, fits you well," snickered Mary. "Although a cockroach is extremely hard to kill. A steamroller would normally kill it, unless you take in consideration all the possible bumps and cracks in the surface it is being squashed upon. So really, cockroaches are really hard to crush – stabbing them with precision works much better."

**"No sir. Unfortunately it would seem Penny has gone missing," she informed him.**

**"What?! What do you mean missing, how is that even possible?!" The general exclaimed again.**

**"Unknown for now. But we're currently trying to get something from the security cameras, but it could take time sir." Winter said. "Sir, your orders."**

"Considering how smashed everything was, I doubt they'll find anything," Ren commented.

"Not true. The room where Penny was kept was more or less intact, and military cameras don't always run on one single electric system, so they might have captured Taro on tape," replied Jaune, smiling at his bro-friend. "That would also fit well with our comic theory, right Ruby?"

"Yup!" she nodded excitedly. "If they find out about Taro they have even more reasons to go after him, even if they don't currently know he is the giant. This might lead to conflict later on, a necessary part of all comics!"

She and Jaune high-fived. "Comic geeks forever!"

**Ironwood didn't say anything for a solid minute or two as he placed his face in his hands. his already bad mood just turning even worse than it already was. But after a moment he finally stood up and took a deep, DEEP, breath before tiredly exhaling. But then he looked at Winter with a look that said man in charge.**

**"Winter recover that footage as soon as you can. As soon as you find out something notify the Ace-Ops and mobilize with them immediately. If there is someone involved with taking Penny then i want you to track them down immediately. I want whoever is possibly behind this found and Penny returned at once." he said as he gave the order, making Winter give a curt salute.**

**"It will be done at once General!" She said as she made her way back to the elevator. And just like that, Ironwood was once again alone with his thoughts.**

"See?" Jaune said, pointing at the projection. "An appropriate build-up for the conflict that will emerge later on."

"I think they would've clashed anyway, Jaune," Pyrrha interjected, patting his arm when he shot her a betrayed look. "The Atlas Military would be looking for the Ultraman, and Taro will likely have to fight more Kaijus – I doubt those were the only ones. So they will eventually find him and confront him about it. Even without those tapes."

"No, but that might set off a man hunt for him," Ruby replied with a smile that did not fit with what she was saying. "Which will inevitably lead to conflict, just like in comics."

"Pyrrha's right, there would've been a confront anyway, but they are right too, this will speed things up a lot," Weiss declared before gaining a look of disapproval. "Although they should really stop comparing this to a comic book."

**The moment Winter was out of sight General sat back down in his chair, slumping in a emotionally and physically exhausted heap.**

**When he finally got his strength to go on he immediately sent those messages and calls he had planned to do before Winter arrived to give him that even worse news. When he was finished he felt some relief that something was going right for today. But then he had to make one final, and important call to someone he wished someone else would talk to.**

**'Well, I suppose it's time to call Pietro.' Ironwood thought to himself tiredly, 'Call him and tell him his daughter is missing.'**

**Needless to say, this was looking to be a long, long day for Ironwood.**

"I take it he's not going to take that well, right?" questioned Qrow.

"Not at all. She is his daughter and he loves her a lot." Ironwood groaned. "Which means that I'm going to be on the receiving end of a tirade from a furious and worried parent."

* * *

**Meanwhile back in Argus.**

* * *

**Back in Argus, Kotaro and Penny had the time of their lives there in the city.**

Raven perked up at that. _'Finally! I need to find out as much as I can about this Taro.'_ She stared at Penny. _'In our world, he is not aware of her existence, so kidnapping her wouldn't work.'_ Then her gaze moved to Mary. _'She, however, personally stated that she knows Taro and is from our world. I'm not sure if those morons have picked up on it, but that means that Taro does exist in our world. Kidnapping and torturing her will increase the chance of Taro bowing down to the Branwen Tribe, although I will have to make sure she's kept somewhere he'll never be able to reach. My Semblance might help with that.'_

Qrow glanced at her, eyes narrowing. He might not know what she saw thinking _exactly_, but he could guess what the general topic was. And he didn't like it.

**Once everything had calmed down in Argus the two had decided to go around the city and have some fun. From going to an Arcade place to a dance hall, anything that looked interesting was something they went and did. And since Penny was experiencing all these different things for the first time she found everything interesting with a childlike curiosity and wonder.**

**There was a hiccup or two concerning some of the things they did. Fortunately it wasn't anything that was an issue.**

"Tell that to the Dragon Hunters," muttered Nora.

"What?" Ren turned to the girl, bewildered. "You're freaking me out, Nora. And we share a room."

"I know, Ruff. Sorry, Ren." Nora then just smiled. "Just something I dreamed of."

Ren frowned. "Nora, we have the same dreams."

"Really?" Ruby piped up, curious. "Is that even possible?"

"I think Nora gets so enthusiastic about her dreams that she subconsciously projects her mind onto mine, or something like that," Ren replied with a shrug. "Besides, it's Nora we're talking about."

"True."

**For example, when they went to a Carnival that had arrived in Argus Penny had decided to try a high striker game. And in the process sent the bell of the game flying when she slammed the hammer down like a falling meteor.**

**Or when she played an Arcade game to the point of burnout because the game couldn't keep up with her.**

Yang burst out laughing and gave the gynoid a thumbs-up. "Never change, Penny, never change!"

The poor girl looked at Ruby. "I don't see why me breaking two machines would be funny… I am actually feeling a little guilty about it."

"Don't worry, Yang just likes shows of force," Ruby waved off her concerns. "And you _are_ super strong, even if you're not super buff!"

"Thank you, Ruby, I'll be sure to tell my father!" Penny smiled her gigawatt smile.

**Fortunately these slight problems were easily fixed and the two still had a lot of fun together all and all.**

**By the End of the day though as the sun began to set in the distance did the two of them decide to go enjoy the view in the state park. Both of them having grabbed a bite to eat together as they enjoyed the sunset together. Kotaro having just a soda pop to drink while Penny had gotten a Cotten Candy. The robot girl greatly enjoying the sweet treat, much to Kotaro's interest and amusement.**

**"I didn't know you could eat food," he said.**

**"Neither did I," Said Penny as she took a moment to turn away from her treat. "But it would seem that the people who designed me wanted me to be as human as possible. Meaning I can eat food and convert it into energy," She said as she took another piece of the fluffy pink delight and popped it in her mouth. Earning a smile on her face from the taste.**

"Well, that is more or less what our body normally does, so I guess they followed the human body's design and just replaced flesh with metal," Amber commented with a shrug. She was far from an expert on robotics but that's what it looked like to her.

**"Well I'm glad to hear that Penny," Kotaro said with a smile as well. While he was completely against the Atlas Council turning her into a war machine, he was at least happy that the people who constructed her to begin with designed her to be able to live a normal life.**

"Trust me when I say this, you're not the only one," Ruby sighed, sad about her friend's fate. She really hated how she was built just to fight, and it also scared her – that meant that she wouldn't be able to see her much, because Atlas wouldn't let her have friends.

"I don't think anyone would be." Blake's bow twitched as she continued, fidgeting slightly. "To be born for the sole reason of fighting sounds horrible."

_'Well, at least they built me!'_ Penny thought cheerfully.

Mary thought about making a comment, but she knew that it would degenerate into a fight and she didn't want to do that while the projection was still going. She could always keep it for later. Besides, what she told Ozpin was a bold-faced lie. Her Semblance did urge her to speak sometimes but she had enough control on it to stop herself from running her mouth. Of course she would never tell them that.

**The two sat in silence for the next five minutes as they enjoyed the peace. However all the while Penny took notice of something about Kotaro as she glanced over to him.**

**Ever since the aftermath involving the conflict with the Grimm and the two Kaiju, Penny noticed something off about her friend.**

**All throughout the day while they were having fun together, she would sometimes noticed a deep pondering look on his face for a brief moment every now and then. It kept occurring so often she was starting to get worried for him.**

"Well, he's on an alien planet, I guess he's still adjusting," Blake guessed flatly. "I know I would."

"But I thought Ultramen were supposed to travel planets sometimes, wouldn't he be used to it?" Penny countered with a frown.

"Maybe he didn't travel so much. Or maybe this world is very different from what he's experienced before." The cat Faunus shrugged as she gave her answer. "It's easy for us since it's our world, but perhaps other worlds are extremely different."

"He didn't even know what Aura was," Weiss pointed out with a scoff. "Even little kids know what Aura is, and over eighty percent of the population has it unlocked even though their Aura is so weak it barely protects them."

Jaune tried not to look too guilty. He also made a mental note to tear his parents a metaphorical new one once he got home, because seriously, he was starting to get pissed at how little they taught him.

**So now that things where calmed down and the two were alone together, she decided to asked "Kotaro, is something wrong?"**

**Snapping out his inner thoughts Kotaro turned to give Penny a slightly puzzled look, "Huh, oh! Yes I'm fine. Why do you ask?" he asked her.**

**"Well, it just seems that you have something on your mind recently," she pointed out to him. "Ever since you defeated those two Kaiju you've been looking as if you had something on your mind. And I've looked up that when someone has something on there mind it normally means that they are bothered by something." Penny said knowledgeably.**

**Taking a moment to hear Penny out Kotaro sighed as he placed his drink down on the bench before leaning back and looking up at the sky. A pondering look coming across his face.**

**"Well, yes your right Penny. Something is on my mind right now." Kotaro confirmed, "It has mainly to do with those Kaiju that appeared."**

**"How come?" Penny asked curiously.**

"Well, they were two gigantic, immensely powerful monsters… isn't that enough of an explanation?" Sun grinned cheekily.

"I highly doubt he was worried about that," replied Weiss. "It's probably related to something else. Perhaps how people will react to them."

**"It mostly has to do with the fact that Kaiju shouldn't even be on your planet," he said. Taking notice of Penny's curios look he elaborated for her, "When i came to your world, the only kind of monsters your planet had were only the Grimm. And other than them, there were no signs of any form of Kaiju on your world, and it's quite possible this was the first Kaiju encounter your world has ever faced. And that's whats bothering me."**

**As Penny listened to what her friend had to say to her, she began to understand the implications of why he was so concerned right now. If what he was saying is true, which she knew it was because of the history information stored in her memory banks, then the implications were as bad as she calculated.**

**The Hunters and Huntresses, as well as the various other defenders of the world, were trained to handle Girmm, and only just Grimm. Granted they were also trained to take down criminals as well but still, this was an entirely new level of trouble for everyone.**

**Remnant couldn't handle Kaiju. But the real question was this, if the Kaiju had never appeared on Remnant before.**

**Then why were they appearing now.**

"Ooh," the students murmured as the real reason was revealed. The adults rolled their eyes, having already guessed that would be the biggest problem.

"Now that I think of it, why _did_ they appear?" wondered Blake, frowning pensively at the projection. "Was it because of Taro himself? Did his presence attract the Kaijus to Remnant?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Blake!" her team leader protested hotly. "There's no way that's true. If Ultramen really attracted Kaijus, then the Ultramen themselves would know, and Taro would've just kept away from Remnant! Taro seems surprised they are showing up, so they probably don't follow the Ultramen!"

"Since when you can use this much logic and make this much sense?" Weiss asked dryly, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Hey! I'm the team leader for a reason!"

"I never said you weren't a good strategist, I am merely saying your over-the-top enthusiasm usually leads you to disregarding logic or common sense," the Ice Queen replied, crossing her arms. She was offended by the fact Ruby immediately thought she was trying to undermine her position as leader… which she had admittedly tried to do in the past, but the past was past.

"This doesn't really solve the question," Yang spoke up, wrapping an arm around Ruby to put her in a sisterly headlock. The younger one yelped and squirmed when the blonde rubbed her knuckles on her head. "If Ruby is right, then why are the Kaijus only arriving now?"

"Perhaps that is why the Ultraman King sent him in the first place," Jaune and Penny both said at the same time, glancing at each other in surprise. They had reached the same conclusion, one by comics knowledge, the other by perfect memory.

"Then why did he not warn Taro about them?" Weiss was sceptical. The King should've been the most powerful being in the universe – he could've afforded to be a little more precise.

"Maybe he didn't have the answer himself," countered Ren, calm as ever. "It is not impossible for him to have had a bad feeling about Remnant's future, without fully knowing what that feeling implied."

"That's true," Blake agreed. "If that were to be the case, then the King might not have wanted to confuse Taro by giving him possibly false information."

**"I can see what you mean. Do you think this is why King sent you here to begin with?" She asked.**

Yang cracked a smile at the sight of Penny repeating herself. Seeing the one in the projection and the one near Ruby acting in the same way was kinda funny.

**"It's a definite possibility all things considered," Kotaro replied, but then he shifted his attention to Penny, "Now. As long we're talking about personal issues how about we talk about what's bothering you Penny?"**

**At that, Kotaro noticed how Penny suddenly starting to shift nervously as discreetly as possible. It was very subtle but his sharp eyesight picked up on it as clear as day.**

**"Um... I don't think I have anything bothering me *hiccup!*" Penny said before she suddenly hiccuped soon after, making Kotaro raise a brow.**

Ironwood facepalmed. He knew of Penny's built-in lie give-away, but he would've preferred if people didn't find out about it so soon. Possibly not at all, but he knew that after a prolonged period of time spent with people, her secret was bound to come out. He just hoped no one would take advantage of it.

Then he frowned. That giveaway had also been added for the secondary reason of being able to always tell if Penny was lying. The Atlas Council wanted it as a precaution – unless Penny was completely reprogrammed anew, and they would be warned if that were to be the case, they would always know whenever she was telling the truth or not. He didn't like it, because as 'cute' as Petro said it was, it really limited her. Not to mention she would be completely unreliable when it came to keeping military secrets.

**"Really, you're sure there isn't anything you want to talk about? He asked again.**

**"Yes *hiccup!*" Penny said, earning another hiccup.**

**"Nothing at all?"**

**"Yes *hiccup!*"**

**"Positive?"**

**"Mmhmm *hiccup*"**

**"Absolutely sure?"**

**"Most definitely *hiccup!*"**

"Looks like Penny really is like a human, she even got the hiccups," Jaune pointed out with a smile.

Ruby smiled as well, glancing at Penny, who smiled back at her. "See? I told you you were a real girl!"

**"What's your name?"**

**"Penny Polendina."**

**There was a moment of silence, and then Kotaro crossed his arms and with a bit of a knowing smile on his face, "Funny, when you tell the truth you don't Hiccup. Your own bodily functions have betrayed you".**

"Wait, Penny, is that true?" Yang asked with a shit-eating grin. _'Oh, the possibilities are endless!'_

"No, it is not." Penny's face contorted as she tried to keep her breath, but eventually she hiccuped again. "_Hgh_."

Yang's grin widened even more. "Penny, why are you lying?"

"It's not something she has any control over," Ironwood grumbled, trying to take the attention off of his sort-of niece. "She was built like that, it's not her fault. If anything, blame her father…"

"I think it's super cute!" Nora squealed, hugging the girl tightly. Fortunately she was made of very resistant alloys, because the bomber didn't hold back either.

"Don't worry, Penny, I won't let Yang make fun of you or embarrass you!" Ruby proclaimed, still in Yang's headlock – which was starting to hurt too, to be honest. She squirmed harder and her sister let her go with a grin. Rubbing her head, she glared at her. "She tends to not know when to stop teasing…"

"I'm not that bad," Yang waved her off.

_'Yes you are,'_ all the students thought at the same time.

Raven glanced at Penny, taking in this new information. Using it to extort information out of her and then using that information to blackmail her would be an extremely effective, and really easy, way to get her to join her side. Her first target was Taro and would continue to be, but there was no wrong in checking out what or who else she could add to the tribe. Even though Penny _was_ a robot, Raven didn't care as long as she obeyed.

_'It doesn't take a genius to guess that it's not just a cute habit Petro did for added adorableness,'_ Mary thought gloomily. _'The Atlas Military and the Council both want their little 'project' to be unable to lie or hide things from them. I suppose she could also be used as a spy. Ugh, why do I do this? It only makes me hate them more… As hard as that may sound.'_ She shook her head and glanced at Penny. It wasn't the right moment to bring it up. The girl was currently being hugged by both Nora _and_ Ruby and mentioning possible (certain in her mind) conspiracies behind her habit would only ruin the moment for her.

**However Kotaro quickly took Notice on how Penny now looked more nervous than ever, Kotaro scooted closer to her and put a comforting arm around her "Penny, what's wrong?" he asked her in a calm voice, doing his best to keep her calm.**

**The robot girl didn't say anything for a moment as she kept staring At the floor, not saying a word as she nervously fiddled with her fingers. But eventually she finally said something in a quite mumble, "I'm not real..."**

**"I'm sorry what?"**

**"I said I'm Not real!" Penny suddenly cried out, actually startling Kotaro a bit from the sudden outburst. However Penny began to calm down but still looked greatly distressed, "That's why I'm upset, Most girls are born, but I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura! I'm not real…"**

"Penny…"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Do you really feel like that?"

Penny smiled warmly at her. "Once, I did. But you changed my mind!"

Everyone waited for the revealing hiccup, but none came. This made Ruby (and secretly a lot of other people) smiled happily, knowing that the gynoid had gotten over her birth method and accepted she was as much human as everyone else in the room – and more human than some, not that it was particularly hard to beat Raven at humanity.

**Kotaro's heart ached when he saw the sad look on the normally cheerful girl's face, the robot girl looking like a lost and sad puppy. But at the same time a part of him suspected that this is what was bothering Penny from the very beginning. And Kotaro could tell it was hard on her for a while now, but he never had the chance to ask her about it until now.**

**"Penny if this has been bothering you why haven't you said anything before?" he asked.**

**"I didn't think it was important," she said, and her response actually shocked him a little, "You have your mission to help protect the world and that's more important right now. But I can't get over how I'm just some imitation. Just a copy or life meant to look and act like a real girl." Penny said as she then looked down looking more sad then ever. And then...**

**"How I'm only just a weapon…"**

Ironwood looked away. For all his power he couldn't stop the Council from using her even if he tried. And as much as it made his heart hurt, she was needed the way she was. He hated to do this to her, but it was for the best. He was a soldier and soldiers sometimes had to sacrifice everything to keep their people safe.

**That, was the last straw for Kotaro.**

**Before she knew it, Penny felt a pair of hands firmly grasp her shoulders and twist her over to face Kotaro. And the Gynoid quickly noticed the firm but caring look that the Ultra was giving her.**

**"Penny, listen and listen carefully about what I'm about to tell you," he said with complete seriousness in his tone of voice, "You are **_**not**_**a weapon, and you are more real than anything or anyone else. When I first came to this world I couldn't find any other person of life until I met you, I felt the life that was dormant within you. So don't think for second that your a fake or an imitation of something else, because your wrong. You are a real girl."**

"I'm still confused about that," Penny admitted. "How could he feel my Aura if I had yet to be activated?"

Mary decided it was time for her lovely voice to be heard again. Regardless of whether they thoguht it was lovely or not. "It's bloody simple, really. I'm surprised you didn't figure it out earlier. I mean, look around you. Everyone here has their Aura unlocked, right?"

"It's true!" Penny nodded enthusiastically.

"But if you walk around in a city, the majority might still have their Aura unlocked, even if it's weak, but some won't, right?" Penny nodded again, and Mary snorted. "Then what are they, bloody vegetables? Just because your Aura wasn't active does not mean it was not there. Your father put part of his soul in your body to create your own, which is more or less what happens when people fuck without protection, only without a partner and less messy." She laughed at their disgusted faces. "Yeah, yeah, turn away kiddies, you're too young anyway. So yeah, Penny, you are one hundred percent human. You're just a gynoid, like I am a Faunus and Ruby is a human."

Penny smiled brightly at her. "Thank you, Ms Aarons!"

"First off, I need sunglasses for that smile," Mary commented, but there was no malice in her voice. "And second, call me Mary. Everyone calls me that anyway, unless you want to be a boring adult."

**He then gave her a warm smile as he continued, "and besides, you weren't meant to be a weapon and you'll never be a weapon. If anything your abilities just help you to help others. And just because your made of metal and wires doesn't make you any less of a person, so don't worry about it okay?"**

**Penny was beside herself, Kotaro showed such care that she didn't know what to say. And before she new it her usual happiness returned full force and she practically tackled Kotaro as she embraced him in a tight hug.**

**"Oh Thank you so much friend Kotaro!" she said happily as she embraced him, earning a hug back from him.**

**"Heh, anytime penny." he said.**

**Sure enough the mood went back to normal and the two just sat in silence again as they enjoyed the sunset. But sure enough though, Kotaro was first to realize one certain issue that they both had, "We need a place to stay." he said**

"There are lots of hotels at Argus," Weiss replied flatly, having visited the city before.

"Yeah, but with the Grimm attack, some houses might've been destroyed so they might be full," Pyrrha countered worriedly.

"I'm sure they are going to find a way," Jaune waved her off before freezing. "Wait, I don't think either of them has money… for obvious reasons."

"Perhaps someone will house them," replied Ren. They could say they lost everything during the attack, and someone will let them in."

**And Penny was also realizing this crucial issue as well, "a necessary living quarters would be a good thing to obtain right now. But what can we do to get one though, we don't have any money." she rationalized, "And even if we went out to find a job to obtain any Lien, we wouldn't be able to obtain the amount we need. Not to mention that by now all the stores or working area's are possibly going to close soon."**

**"*Sigh* which means we're in a fine mess right now," Kotaro said. The situation about living quarters not looking good for either of them right now, "Well we might as well go look for at least someplace we can stay for the time being. But the odds of that happening are pretty-"**

**"Excuse me! Sir, Miss, Excuse me!"**

"Saph?" Jaune spoke up, surprised. "What's she doing there? I thought she'd be back at the house to take care of Adrian!"

"Adrian?" Yang questioned him.

"My nephew," replied the leader of JNPR, smiling warmly at the thought of his family. "Or well, the boy who _will_ be my nephew, he's not yet born. His name is Adrian Jaune Cotta-Arc, my sister told me she wanted to give him my name and that nothing would've stopped her. Thankfully Terra, her wife, didn't argue."

"They sound like a nice family," Blake smiled warmly.

"They are. I've spent some time with them, and they were already planning on inviting me over to help them with Adrian once he's born." The boy chuckled. "My sister is a pro and I'm sure Terra is great at babysitting too, but between work and moving and the pregnancy, they haven't gotten much lovers' time themselves, so I'm there to buy them some time."

**Suddenly perking up, the two looked over to see who was calling out to them. And to both of their surprise it was none other thsn the same blond woman and her son from earlier today during the Grimm attack. The blond and her son both looking delighted to see the both of them as they came up to them.**

**"Oh thank goodness I found you two. We've been looking all over Argus for the both of you." she said with a relived smile.**

**Kotaro and Penny looked between each other for a moment before looking back to the woman and her baby, both of them a bit confused.**

**"Um pardon miss, but who might you be?" Penny asked.**

**Realizing she hadn't introduced herself, the blond straightened up smiling, "Oh I'm sorry. My name is Saphron Arc," the now named Saphron introduced herself, before shifting her hold on her baby, "and this is my son Adrian" said baby waved at them cutely.**

"Oh my God he's too cute!" Weiss exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

"He is exceptionally adorable," admitted Mary, chuckling a bit. "Baby power, I suppose."

**Smiling, Kotaro stood up and shook the blondes hand.**

**"Nice to meet you Saphron, My name is Kotaro Higashi," He said as he then gestured to Penny, "And this is my friend Penny."**

**Penny smiled as she gave a curt bow, raising her skirt up a bit, "Salutations miss Arc, its a pleasure to Meet you," she said in her usual megawatt smile.**

**"Pleasure to meet you as well," she said smiling back, "Also I hope you don't mind but, would you be interested in joining me snd my family for dinner tonight?"**

**"Sorry Saphron but me and Penny have to find a place to stay for the night," Kotaro said turning the blondes offer down gently, "we're not exactly from around here to be honest."**

**Saphron though seemed to perk up from that, "Oh, well in that case how about you spend the night at our house, It's the least I can do to thank you both for helping us earlier today."**

"She's inviting two strangers at her house?" Winter repeated, frowning.

"Well yeah, I mean, they did save her life," Nora shrugged as if it wasn't anything big. "She doesn't have to but it wouldn't be too weird. She's just showing her gratitude."

"Although I'm not sure if they have enough room…" wondered Pyrrha.

Jaune waved her off. "Nah, they got plenty of room. They could house all of us without many problems. Thanks to their jobs, their house is really big."

**"Oh well, we wouldn't want to intrude or anything-" Kotaro started before sapphire cut him off.**

**"Oh no it's no trouble at all. Like I said you saved our lives, so again it's the least we can do to repay you for helping us," she reassured him.**

**"Well in that case, we'd be delighted to come join you and your family for the night. Right Penny?" Kotaro said as he looked over to the Gynoid.**

**"Absolutely!" She said.**

**Smiling at their approval Saphron began to walk back towards the city with her two Guests following closely behind. The two of them relived that their current problem just solved itself.**

"That was pretty lucky," admitted Ruby. In comic books it usually wasn't so lucky. Though she was starting to wonder if comic books could really apply. Khor said it was real, even though it was really hard to believe it, and Mary said she knew Taro, but it wasn't real, right? Aliens and all didn't exist – it was just a movie or something.

Right?

* * *

**Meanwhile near the continent of Anima**

* * *

**Elsewhere, thousands of****miles away, was the large Island of Menagerie. Menagerie****is a landmass in the southeast of Remnant where most of the Faunus population resides.**

Blake looked up quickly, interested in seeing what would be said about her hometown. She met Mary's eyes, which held a teasing glint, and looked away.

"Menagerie…" mumbled Ironwood, glaring at the island. _'I hate how Faunus are segregated there, but Menagerie is also the birthplace of the White Fang, a terrorist organisation that has killed hundreds, thousands of people. And in Menagerie, the White Fang is even a public branch of the government, supported and accepted by its citizens. True, they do keep up an appearance of peacefulness, but their leader Sienna Khan has repeatedly been spotted during violent attacks or boycotts. How can I trust a kingdom where its very government is made up of terrorists?'_

"Sir?" beside him Winter asked.

"It's fine, Winter." His glare lessened. "I'm just not too fond of a certain organisation born on that island."

**Menagerie is a continent located south of Anima and is the smallest continent on Remnant.**

**Two thirds of the landmass is comprised by desert forcing the resident Faunus to congregate on smaller areas resulting in small and dense settlements. The biggest settlement of Menagerie and its capital is Kuo Kuana.**

**Menagerie is best described as a safe haven for Faunus.**

**Following the Great War, the Faunus were given Menagerie as a reward for their participation, in conjunction with equal rights. While some Humans saw these rewards as fair and just, many Faunus saw it as a slap to the face, as two-thirds of Menagerie is a desert that is uninhabitable due to dangerous wildlife.**

"Well, it's not like I can blame them for that, I'd be angry too," Yang admitted, looking at the state of the island. "That's a crappy place to live, no offence to anyone who lives there."

"You're not wrong. While the Faunus have done an amazing job at turning Kuo Kuana into a town of happiness for everyone, most of the island _is_ uninhabitable," explained Blake, anger rising as she remembered how badly humans treated the Faunus. "Humanity chose the worst place they could to give to the Faunus, because no matter what, discrimination is unfortunately still in our culture."

Mary snorted. "Yeah, sure."

Blake turned to her, eyes blazing. "What? You're a Faunus, you should know what I'm talking about!"

"I do, believe me, I do," Mary nodded, a glare making its way to her face. "But you clearly don't. Faunus haters are much less than you believe. Menagerie was given to the Faunus because it was the _only_ big island available. All the other islands were already taken, and they couldn't throw millions out of their homes just so the Faunus could have their little kingdom. Especially since the Faunus wanted a place where only Faunus could stay – humans are looked at with extreme mistrust at Menagerie, and often chased off right away. You can thank Sienna and the White Fang for that."

She snorted. "Discrimination sucks, but most of the people don't really discriminate. The politicians do not because of race, but because Faunus don't have influence or money so they matter not. I won't say the Faunus are treated equally because it's false, but I'll say that the people like you, who complain so much and do so little, are despicable because they're basically just throwing themselves a pity party."

"I want to become a Huntress to fight for equality!" Blake exclaimed hotly.

"You want to become a Huntress because you like the idea of a romantic swashbuckler, fighting her way through billions of enemies and reaching world fame and then, with a single generous gesture, bringing world peace upon Remnant." Mary's voice was so flat and sarcastic, Blake felt like a fish on a grill – roasted. "Had equality _really_ been your goal, you would've started a company to make lots of money and get political influence. Becoming a politician would've been harder, but you could've tried. What do you think you're gonna do for equality once you will be fighting Grimm and moving from town to town, or called by big VIPs for protection, uh? What will your contribution be? There are tons of Faunus Huntsmen and Huntresses, and you know what? Most of them never do anything that even relates to their race." She paused for a second. "Except Faunus porn. That's really popular, especially when starring Hunters. But I'm getting off-topic here. You think being a Huntress will make everything better, but what _is_ your plan for bringing equality?"

Blake flinched, at loss for words. While she didn't agree with what Mary had just said, one thing was true – she didn't have a plan. Not really. She hadn't thought about what she would do once she graduated. To be honest, whatever she ended up doing probably wouldn't even be related to her Hunter duties anyway, unless she used her fame to bolster her revolution.

"Thought so," scoffed Mary.

**Over time however, Humanity became adamant in their attempts for the Faunus population to be centralized in Menagerie, and would later push for the confinement of all the Faunus there, as well as countermand of the equal rights of the Faunus earned in the Great War. In response, the Faunus revolted, sparking the Faunus Rights Revolution.**

**While little is known of the events of the Revolution, the Faunus were successful in preventing their confinement to Menagerie.**

**And as of lately, Faunus predominantly live on Menagerie, and it is seen as a "safe haven" for their race. The population is gathered together where the land is habitable, making it comparatively crowded, particularly in the main city Kuo Kuana. Though advanced enough in architecture and industry to house one, Menagerie does not have a CCT tower, which makes communication with the rest of the world difficult. But they still manage to get by none the less**

"Are there really no humans in Kuo Kuana?" asked Ruby.

"Only ambassadors from the Kingdom of Atlas. Vale, Vacuo and Mistral all have Faunus ambassadors," replied Ironwood, knowledgeable about politics even when it was about the island in the arsehole of the world. "Other than Atlas's ambassadors, who don't live there all the time but take turns of two weeks between the four of them to minimize the chance of terrorist attacks, there are no humans on Menagerie. Those who visit usually don't remain for longer than two weeks."

"Or are forced to leave," Winter added sternly. "The White Fang doesn't like having humans around in their home turf."

"Touché," shrugged Mary. "Those pompous assholes have a stick up their asses. Funny how much they hate Atlas, yet how similar to Atlasians they act."

**However, as the night had come, and the moon soon began to rise up over the horizon, something was amiss.**

**The sound of whistling could be heard at a dock area of Menagerie, a local guard could be seen doing his rounds within a warehouse as he casually strolled along whistling a tune.**

**So far nothing seemed out of the ordinary. A new shipment of supplies had arrived earlier today, but other than that everything looked fine, and tonight was looking like an ordinary night.**

**However, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, and suddenly shifted his attention to his side.**

**For a breath moment, his Faunus instincts suddenly kicked off as he felt like something had slipped passed him. But as he looked he didn't see anything out of the ordinary and just assumed it was his nerves acting up.**

Qrow snorted and nodded. "The dark can play weird tricks on you, I speak from experience. Your brain is not only tired, but disoriented by the silence, especially if you're used to usually loud places. Also, people rely mostly on their sight and their hearing, so the dark doesn't help. Left without full use of their sight, people rely on their hearing, but without being used to it, they often jump at the slightest sound since they expect everything to be completely silent."

Amber gave him an impressed smile. "How do you know all of that! I've always thought it was just the dark giving people the creeps."

The Hunter shrugged. "Oh sure, that also helps. But it's scary because you're partially helpless and you are like a fish out of water. People aren't used to living during the night. Night shift guards usually fare better, but they have a life outside their work so they are still exposed to sounds and sights that are later denied by the darkness. So yeah, when you're in the dark, it's easy to be scared by everything."

**Shrugging, he went back on his stroll.**

**And only made it a few steps before his eyes widened in horror, as something shot out from the shadows!**

**And the guard could only scream as a bright flash shined within the Warehouse.**

"I suppose it wasn't just the dark playing tricks on him," Winter remarked with a huff, throwing a glance at Qrow. And completely ignoring the horrified looks on the faces of the students.

"What was that!?" exclaimed Sun.

"Something extremely quick and quite deadly," Raven replied, a hint of interest in her voice. "Perhaps an assassin. Or perhaps not all Kaijus are enormous, and this one is closer to the size of a human, making it easier for it to hide."

"That's not good…" mumbled Amber.

**And those screams were soon silenced, as an eerie and haunting laugh echoed all within the warehouse.**

Everyone was silent as the laugh echoed in their cave as well. Goosebumps rose on their arms as shivers ran down their backs.

Mary scowled and let out a frustrated huff. "Oh no, not these guys again…"

"W-Wait," Ruby stuttered, wrapping herself in her cloak to hide her shivers. "Y-You know what d-did that?"

Mary shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm telling you anything, you'll see soon enough. But I'll tell you that this is close to when I met Taro."

"C-Can't you t-tell us what that was?" even Nora stumbled a little on her words, pressing herself against Ren. The boy used his Semblance on himself and then on the girl, getting rid of that fear and returning strength to the ginger's voice. "I mean, I know you don't want to, but any hint?"

"I'm sorry, you'll see." Mary frowned and rubbed her own arms. "But they surely weren't fun to deal with."

"They?" Ozpin's voice was tense in an effort to control his own subconscious fear. "There are more than one?"

Mary silently cursed before she came up with an excuse. "I just didn't want to say he or she since I'm not sure what gender they are, or if they even have a gender," she lied smoothly. Ozpin's gaze narrowed, but he didn't seem to be willing to press the matter.

"L-Let's continue, shall we?" Sun's voice broke a bit, but the fear was slowly leaving everyone there. As scary as that had been, they were still Hunters and Hunter trainees. They were trained to react well to shock.

And Jaune watched a lot of horror movies, mostly to at least keep his fearful sisters off his back. True, some of his sisters still stuck around but at least they weren't the full package of seven.

**and not to far off from the docks, a lone Individual Faunus was walking through the street, only to stop dead in their tracks when the lights from the docks caught her attention.**

**The Faunus in question was a fox Faunus, who had short white colored hair and wore a pair of round goggles over her eyes. She also wore clothes akin to a scientist, complete with lab coat.**

**What was also most noticeable was the fact she had not only a pair of white fox ears on her head, but also a bushy fox tail as well.**

"Wait a second, is that-"

"Yes, Ruby, that's me," Mary nodded, appraising her look in the projection and nodding in approval. "And before you ask, yes I lived in Menagerie."

"That's so cool, it's like watching a movie, but the movie's characters are actually with you!" Jaune exclaimed, excited.

"Did you forget a man just died?" Weiss exclaimed, still feeling the goosebumps on her arms for that infernal laugh.

Jaune slumped slightly. "Sorry, I was just trying to lighten the atmosphere…" He frowned and looked away, crossing his arms. "There's no need to call me out on _everything_."

Mary smirked. _'Looks like blondie isn't liking the prolonged company of the Ice Queen. Who knows, maybe he'll get over that puppy crush of his and stop his pathetic flirting. Offence fully meant, your flirting brings shame to your entire family.'_ She didn't have anything against Jaune, though, she was just stating a fact.

**As she stood on the street, she adjusted her goggles a bit as she stared at the light coming from the docks, and said only one thing.**

**"Well. This is new."**

"That's all you have to say?!" Ironwood exclaimed, glaring at her.

"Well, duh. My Semblance allows me to overanalyse things over ten times as fast as a normal person, which means I also get over shock ten times as fast as a normal person," she replied without missing a beat. "I'll admit I was in over my head, but I always keep a cool head. In battle losing your cool could cost you your life."

"Holy words," mumbled Qrow.

"So, in order to distract you from that laugh and the murder…" Mary grinned. "Who wants to be roasted? Who volunteers?"

"What do you mean?" Winter asked, a tick mark appearing on her forehead at the girl's cryptic offer.

"Easy, Pooch. It's just that since I am super-intelligent thanks to my Semblance, I just thought I could offer my advice to people." She flipped her hair out of her eyes, even though it wasn't long enough and she was wearing goggles. "I'm gonna roast the hell out of them, but if they are smart they'll see past the offence and they'll better themselves. So, who volunteers?"

The adults immediately backed out. None of them was sure how much the girl knew, and they didn't want to risk her revealing some secrets.

The students exchanged glances. Then, three of them were roughly grabbed and shoved forward to face their doom.

Mary smiled at the three unfortunate souls. "Don't worry, if you listen carefully you will actually learn a lot." She looked at the first one. "Let's start with…"


End file.
